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THE LIFE OF ST. PETER; 



gi ^izfyzxmmx of Galilee, 



AFTERWARDS 



AN APOSTLE OF CHRIST, 



% Course of Mara. 



THE REV. DANIEL WEST. 



LONDON : 

ALEXANDER HEYLIN, 28, PATEEN08TER-EOW ; 

SOLD BY -T. MASON, 66, PATERXOSTER-ROW. 

MDCCCLIY. 



£S2^ 



LONDON : 

PJilNTED BY WILLIAM NICHOLS, 

32, LONDON -WALL. 



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PREFACE. 



The Lectures contained in this little volume were 
delivered by the Author, in the ordinary course of his 
ministry, to a week-night congregation, and without 
the most distant reference to publication. And he 
would not have yielded to the request of his friends 
to publish them, but that he had reason to believe 
they had proved interesting and edifying to his 
hearers; and he hoped they might, by the blessing 
of God, prove equally so to the readers. 

He is fully conscious of their numerous imperfec- 
tions, and, but for the many miscellaneous duties con- 
nected with a laborious ministry, he might, perhaps, 
be able to render them more worthy of public 
patronage. At the same time, he trusts that they 
may not be found so very imperfect as to fail in 
pleasantly and profitably aiding the meditations of 
Christian people. 

Bespeaking, therefore, the reader's candour, and 
praying that the divine blessiug may accompany this 
effort for the diffusion of evangelical truth, the follow- 
ing pages are submitted with the kind wishes of 

THE AUTHOR. 
Hackney Grove, 
June, 1854. 



CONTENTS. 



SCENE I. 

Page. 
The Busy Fisherman hailed from the Shore. (Matt. 

tv. 18-20.) 3 

II. 

The Gracious One heals the Fisherman's Mother- 

in-Law. (Matt. vm. 14, 15.) 31 

III. 

Walking on the Sea toward Christ. (Matt. xiy. 26-33.) 63 

IV. 
Receiving the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matt. 

xvi. 15-19.) 95 

V. 
On the Holy Mount, where he wished to remain. (Matt. 

xvii. 1-5.) 12? 

VI. 
Asleep in Gethsemane while his Master prays. (Matt. 

xxvi. 36-43.) 159 

VII. 
By the Fire in the Hall of the High Priest's Palace. 

(Matt. xxvi. 58, 69-75.) 191 

VIII. 

Dtntng with Christ on the Shore of Tiberias. (John 

xxi. 15-19.) 228 



V1U CONTEXTS. 

SCENE IX. 

Page. 
Healing a Beggar at the Beautiful Gate op the 

Temple. (Acts hi. 1-8.) 255 

X. 

Kneeling in the Upper Chamber by the Dead Body 

of Dorcas. (Acts ix. 36-42.) 287 

XI. 

In a Trance on the House-Top at Joppa. (Acts x. 

9-16.) 304 

XII. 

Imprisoned at Jerusalem, and rescued by an Angel. 

(Acts xit. 5-9.) 321 

XIII. 

The Closing Scene. (John xxi. 18, 19 ; 2 Peter t. 13, 14.) 351 



SCENES 

IN 

THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

SCENE I. 

THE BUSY FISHERMAN HAILED FROM THE SHORE. 

" And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon 
called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the 
sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow 
me, and I will make yon fishers of men. And they straightway 
left their nets, and followed him." — Matt. iv. 18-20. 

In the series of Lectures upon which we are now 
entering^ it is desirable that we should, as far as possible, 
dissociate ourselves from the familiar scenery of our own 
country, and endeavour to realize that of other and 
sunnier climes ; that, for a while, we should transfer our 
thoughts from the dull, heavy, and fitful atmosphere of 
our sea-girt and heaven-blest home, to the genial, brilliant, 
and changeless East. With freshened recollections of 
sacred story, we must climb the mountain where a Pro- 
B 2 



4 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

phet of old, an Apostle, or the Saviour stood. We must 
traverse this valley, and cross that stream, and sit by the 
well or the beach where the Eedeemer taught. We must 
mix with the turbaned heads, and the flowing robes, and 
the sandaled feet. And, thus surrounding ourselves with 
the associations of Bible lands, we shall be prepared more 
perfectly to understand and appreciate Bible narrative. 

Nor will what we have now suggested be so difficult a 
task as some might imagine. It may be accomplished 
without expense, fatigue, or loss of time, by simply taking 
the benefit of some of the many books of travel published 
during the last few years. Our general literature has 
been enriched by most valuable contributions of trust- 
worthy travellers in the East : and the correct, elegant, 
and graphic descriptions they have given us of the scenes 
of sacred story, aided by beautiful pictorial illustrations, 
have made us almost as familiar with Palestine as with 
our own country. To some of these men we are laid 
under great obligation. Their accounts have thrown new 
light upon the sacred page. Force and beauty have been 
discovered in passages which previously conveyed no defi- 
nite idea ; and the mystery of many a dark similitude has 
been unfolded by the means of their observation and 
research. In company with them we may journey, and 
gaze upon the places round which are gathered our early 
and holiest associations. We have thus no dangerous 
voyage to make, — no toils or discomfort of personal travel 
to endure. Taking advantage, in this way, of the results 



THE BUSY FISHERMAN HAILED FROM THE SHORE. 

of modern travel, we shall be surprised to find how familiar 
we may become with strange and far-off regions, and 
with how mnch deeper interest the Gospel narrative is 
invested. 

TVhen we speak of realizing the scenes of New-Testa- 
ment history, we would not be understood as referring 
merely to the places which are mentioned, — their geogra- 
phical position and natural features, — but also to the 
habits, manners, pursuits, and education of the individuals 
whose character and life are being considered. This is, 
undoubtedly, a matter of great importance in the study of 
holy Scripture. In very many cases, the right under- 
standing of the text depends upon our being able to do 
this. It is hardly possible to form a just estimate of the 
sayings and doings of the persons about whom we are 
reading, except in so far as we are able for the time to 
occupy their place, and to surround ourselves with the 
circumstances which continually influenced them. It were 
an easy thing to show how the interpretation of many- 
portions of holy Scripture has been affected by home 
associations in the mind of the interpreter, and how faulty 
and unfair the estimates of character have been from the 
same cause. The numerous allusions to natural scenery, 
to national history, to geographical position, to domestic 
customs, to the occupations and pursuits of the several 
classes of the people, to the morals, religion, and litera- 
ture of the country, can only be understood and appre- 
ciated in proportion to our knowledge of such things, not 



6 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

as tliey relate to our own country and its inhabitants, but 
to the lands and the people embraced in Bible narrative. 

In the days of our Lord, the Holy Land was divided 
into the three provinces of Judea, Samaria, and Galilee. 
This last was situated in the north, and considered by 
some the most beautiful and fertile part of Palestine. It 
is bounded by Mount Lebanon on the north, by the river 
Jordan and the Sea of Galilee on the east, by the Chison 
on the south, and by the Mediterranean on the west. 
This province abounds with magnificent scenery, and is 
described by Josephus in the most glowing terms. It 
was divided into Upper and Lower Galilee. The former, 
lying in the north, was inhabited principally by Syrians, 
Phoenicians, and Arabians, and was therefore called, 
" Galilee of the Gentiles." The latter, lying partly along 
the shores of the Lake of Galilee, was very fertile, and 
contained several important and populous towns; as 
Tiberias, Chorazin, Bethsaida, Nazareth, Cana, Capernaum, 
Nain, Caesarea, and Ptolemais. Within this province our 
Lord was brought up, and lived till he was thirty years of 
age ; and though, after he commenced his public ministry, 
he visited other parts, it was here he chiefly resided, and 
where he wrought many of his wondrous works. Most 
of his disciples were natives of Galilee, and were recog- 
nised as such by their provincial dialect. This dialect is 
described by Buxtorf as " of a broad and rustic tone, 
which affected the pronunciation, not only of letters, but of 
words." When Peter stood by the fire in the hall of the 



THE BUSY FISHERMAN HAILED FROM THE SHORE. 7 

High. Priest's palace, and was accused of being a dis- 
ciple of Christ, they said, " Surely thou art one of 
them : for thou art a Galilean, and thy speech agreeth 
thereto." 

It may be observed farther, that Galilee had acquired 
some political notoriety in the time of Christ. A man 
named Judas, a native of Gaulan, in Upper Galilee, had 
stirred up the people to rebellion against the numbering 
and taxation imposed upon them by Augustus. He pre- 
tended that this was a manifest instance of servitude to 
a foreign power, which all true Israelites were bound to 
oppose to the utmost. His doctrine was, that all taxa- 
tion was unlawful, since God alone was their Master 
and Lord. As usual in such cases, holy Scripture was 
pressed into the service of this popular doctrine. The 
passage upon which, he mainly relied, was that occurring 
in Deut. xvii. 15-19 : " Thou shalt in any wise set him 
King over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose : 
one from among thy brethren shalt thou set King over 
thee : thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is 
not thy brother. But he shall not multiply horses to 
himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the 

end that he should multiply horses Neither shall he 

multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away : 
neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and 
gold." He argued, that it was unlawful for them to be 
under the government of strangers, or to be numbered 
and taxed by the Eoman authorities. He succeeded in 



S SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

making a considerable impression upon the popular mind ; 
and many persons took up arms and engaged in a kind of 
civil war. This sedition continued for many years, and, 
indeed, was not terminated till the destruction of Jeru- 
salem. A knowledge of this political fact will help us to 
understand the tragedy referred to by our Lord in Luke 
xiii. It would appear that some of these Galileans came 
up to Jerusalem to worship God at one of the great 
festivals ; Pilate the Governor barbarously murdered them 
in the court of the temple, and thus mingled their blood 
with that of their sacrifices. 

This insurrectionary party is also called " the Sect of 
the Herodians." They were so called because the king- 
dom of Herod the Tetrarcli included Galilee beyond 
Jordan, and the neighbouring places about Gaulan, 
Judas's country. Some of these disaffected people 
sought to entrap the Saviour into their seditious views, by 
asking him whether it was lawful to pay tribute to 
Csesar or no. This was the grand question at issue. To 
be exempted from the taxation and political control 
of the Eoman empire, was the ultimate object of 
the sect. The Jewish rulers, too, were anxious to find 
occasion against Christ ; and nothing could answer their 
purpose better, than to identify him with this political 
party. A strenuous attempt was therefore made to fasten 
upon him a charge of taking part in this rebellion. When 
he was brought before Pilate, some of his accusers falsely 
swore that they had found him " perverting the nation," 



THE BUSY FISHERMAN HAILED FKO^I THE SHORE . \) 

and "forbidding to give tribute to Caesar/' But they 
failed to sustain this accusation : they could not identify 
him with the seditious and turbulent faction which trou- 
bled the land. But though they failed in this, we find 
that the name of " Galilean " was given to Christ and his 
disciples as a name of reproach ; and that, in after years, 
Julian the Apostate used to call Christ " the Galilean 
God," and actually passed a law prohibiting the Chris- 
tians from being called by any other name than " Gali- 
leans." He sought to destroy the rising church by 
heaping reproach upon the persons composing it, and 
upon the Divine Saviour whom they delighted in and 
worshipped. In this design, however, Julian signally 
failed, and found to his cost that there was neither coun- 
sel nor might against the Lord. Having invaded the 
kingdom of Persia, and won many battles, he was at 
length suddenly attacked by the Persians ; and, being 
eager to repulse the enemy, he hastened to the field of 
battle without his armour, when he received a mortal 
wound by a dart, which, through his ami and side, 
pierced his very liver. Catching in his hand the blood 
which flowed from his wound, he dashed it up toward 
heaven, and cried, " Galilean, thou hast conquered I" 

The scene of our present meditations is on the shore 
of the Lake of Galilee. This beautiful sheet of water is, 
in fact, only an expansion of the river Jordan, which 
enters it on the north. Nearly all travellers agree in 
reporting that the Jordan flows through without mixing 



]0 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

with the waters of the Lake, and that the stream may be 
distinctly followed by the eye. This water is variously 
named, "the Sea of Chinnereth," (Num. xxxiv. 11,) " the 
Sea of Galilee," (Matt. iv. 18,) " the Lake of Genne- 
saret," (Luke v. 1,) and "the Sea of Tiberias." This 
last name it has received from Tiberias, one of the towns 
on its western bank. This town was chiefly built by 
Herod Antipas, and named by him, in honour of the 
Eoman Emperor, Tiberias. " Gennesaret " is probably 
only a corruption of " Chinnereth," which appears to 
have been the ancient name of the town of Tiberias. It 
is supposed by some that this name is derived from two 
w^ords, signifying " the Garden of a Prince," or " a Eoyal 
Garden," and may refer to the garden adjoining the palace 
of Herod at Tiberias. Others derive " Gennesaret " from 
a Hebrew word which signifies " a Harp," the Lake being 
supposed somewhat to resemble that instrument in shape. 
Puller quaintly observes on this etymology, " Sure the 
high winds sometimes make but bad music (to the ear of 
mariners), when playing thereupon." Bad music indeed ! 
when the accompaniments were rude waves and a sinking 
ship, and the appropriate and thrilling chorus was the cry 
of the poor sailors in jeopardy, " Master, Master, we 
perish !" 

In speaking of this Sea of Galilee, the Talmud says : 
" f Seven seas,' saith God, c have I created, and of them 
all have I chosen none but the Sea of Gennesaret.' " The 
waters are soft and sweet ; it has a beautiful pebbly bed, 



THE BUSY FISHERMAN HAILED FEOM THE SHOEE. 11 

and the surrounding atmosphere is remarkably salubrious. 
The shores are described by Josephus as a perfect para- 
dise, producing every luxury under heaven, at all seasons 
of the year. One of the most recent descriptions is that 
given by Dr. Olin. He says, "I remained seated upon 
one of the ancient tombs for half an hour or more, to 
enjoy the lovely and magnificent prospect which it afforded 
of the Sea of Galilee, and the region adjacent. It was 
four or five hundred feet below me ; its surface so 
smooth as to seem covered with oil, and glittering in the 
beams of a bright and burning sun, though darkened 
here and there with the moving shadow of a cloud. 
The entire eastern shore of the lake was visible, with 
the exception of a small portion at the southern or lower 
end. I could only conjecture its length and breadth ; but 
it seemed to me that the expanse of water on which my 
eye rested might be twelve or fourteen miles in length, by 
six or seven wide. The high, bold shore is a good deal 
depressed on the north and north-east, where the Jordan 
enters ; and it occasionally declines a little, or is broken 
through by a narrow valley, in other places ; but, with few 
exceptions, it is every where a mountain steep. Steep as 
it is, however, it is usually clothed with grass, shrubs, and 
small trees. In a few places, where the slope is more 
gentle, it is covered with wheat and ploughed fields, 
which exhibit the same aspect of dark red, the sure evi- 
dence of fertility, which I had remarked in the Plain of 
Esdraelon. The mountain bank seems to rise from the 



12 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEK. 

water's edge ; but sometimes there is a border of level 
ground below it, only visible, however, when sown with 
wheat, or recently ploughed." Dr. E. D. Clarke, speaking 
of the grandeur of the scenery, says, " The Lake of Gen- 
nesaret is surrounded by objects well calculated to heighten 
the solemn impression made by such recollections, and 
affords one of the most striking prospects in the Holy 
Land. Speaking of it comparatively, it may be described 
as longer and finer than our Cumberland and Westmore- 
land lakes, although perhaps inferior to Loch Lomond. It 
does not possess the vastness of Lake Geneva, although it 
much resembles it in certain points of view. In pic- 
turesque beauty it comes nearest to Lake Locarno in 
Italy, although it is destitute of anything similar to the 
islands by which that majestic piece of water is adorned. 
It is inferior in magnitude, and in the height of its sur- 
rounding mountains, to the Lake Asphaltites." 

As already intimated, there were numerous towns and 
villages situated on the shores of this beautiful lake. 
Bethsaida, on the western shore, was the native place of 
Peter. The precise site of this town has not been ascer- 
tained, but it appears to have been not far from Caper- 
naum. The waters of Galilee abounded with fish, and 
gave the means of subsistence and employment to the 
surrounding population. Peter was a fisherman by trade ; 
and his boats and his nets constituted his worldly wealth. 
T\ r ith the toils and perils of this laborious calling he had 
been familiar from his childhood. Nor is it likely that 



THE BUSY FISHERMAN HAILED FROM THE SHORE. 13 

he ever dreamed of the place which he was afterwards to 
fill in the history of the church and the world to the end 
of time. 

It would appear that Andrew, Peter's brother, was one 
of the disciples of John the Baptist, and that he first 
introduced Peter to Christ. The introduction was brought 
about in the following way : — Andrew and another dis- 
ciple were present on one occasion with John, when the 
Saviour was walking by, and John said, " Behold the 
Lamb of God." These two disciples, having heard these 
words, immediately followed Jesus. " Jesus turned and 
saw them following, and said unto them, What seek 
ye ? They said unto him, Babbi, (which is to say, being 
interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou ? He saith 
unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he 
dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the 
tenth hour." But, as it w r ould seem, before accepting 
this invitation to remain for the night with Christ, 
Andrew set off in quest of his brother Simon. He was so 
deeply impressed with the character, conversation, and 
claims of Christ, that he could not be satisfied until his 
brother Simon had made the acquaintance of this singu- 
larly interesting personage, and been brought to share in 
his views and feelings. Having met with his brother, he 
said to him, " We have found the Messias, which is, 
being interpreted, the Christ.' ' This is a fine illustration 
of the concern we should feel for, and the efforts we 
should make to promote, the spiritual interests of our 



14 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

near relations. We cannot prove our love to husband 
or wife, to father or mother, to son or daughter, to sister or 
brother, better than by bringing them to Christ. He is the 
Great Teacher, the Divine Saviour, the Sovereign Lord, the 
Judge of all. Bring your friends and relatives to him, that 
they may receive at his hand wisdom and salvation, hap- 
piness and heaven. Bring them to him by invitation, 
prayer, and faith. Andrew brought Simon to Jesus. " And 
when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon, the son 
of Jona : thou shalt be called Cephas, which is, by interpre- 
tation, a stone/' or Peter. This occurred at Capernaum, 
perhaps some twelve months before Peter was called to 
immediate attendance upon Christ. It is probable that 
during this period he had several interviews with Christ, 
and that, before he was hailed from the shore, he had 
become fully convinced of the truth of the Saviour's claim 
to be the Messiah. As yet, however, the Eedeemer had 
not entered upon his public ministry, and Peter continues 
to follow his calling as a fisherman of Galilee. 

We can imagine him leaving his humble home in the 
morning of the day to which the text refers, accompanied 
by Andrew, his brother. We can see him taking his 
usual place in the boat, arranging his nets, and preparing 
for the labours of the day. They put off from the beach, 
— they bend upon their oars, and gradually the net is 
dropped as they stretch out on the lake. Are the brothers 
engaged in conversation ? If so, of what, and of whom, 
do they converse? Or are they silent and meditative? 



THE BUSY FISHERMAN HAILED FROM THE SHORE. 15 

With what, then, are the thoughts of Peter occupied? 
Are they with his wife and family on the shore ? — are they 
taken up with the prospects of the day, the weather, and 
the take of fish? — or are they of hhn to whom public 
attention is so largely turning, as the long-expected 
Messiah? We may very well suppose that the inci- 
dents of his several recent interviews with Christ were 
fresh in his recollection. "New light had broken in upon 
his mind, and strange influences are at work upon his 
heart. And now that he leaves the din of the shore, and 
perhaps catches sight of Capernaum, where the Saviour 
had chosen to dwell, his thoughts would be busy with 
him. Was he indeed the Christ of God? "Have I 
seen and conversed with him who is the ' desire of all 
nations ? ' Have I been familiarly in the company of him 
of whom Moses and the Prophets wrote and spoke ? 
Have I spent an evening with the Lord's Anointed, of 
whose coming enraptured seers have sung in loftiest 
verse? How happy am I! how greatly favoured!" 
Happy, indeed, he was, and favoured of God! Kings, 
and Prophets, and righteous men, had desired to see the 
day of Christ, but had not seen it, — to hear the things 
that Peter heard, but they had not been permitted. 

The sky above is clear. The lake is calm; and its 
unrippled surface, like a brilliant and beautiful mirror, 
reflects the surrounding scenery, or the passing shadow of 
a fleecy cloud. All around is still ; and only the dip of 
the oar is heard. But, hark! What voice is that? 



16 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

They are hailed from the shore. They listen; and the 
words, " Follow me," thrill them with emotion. There is 
a majesty and power in this singular call from the shore, 
to which they bow without a moment's hesitation. They 
cannot mistake the voice. Its tones have become familiar 
ta them; and their hearts respond with strange and 
delighted feeling. 

" Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men," said 
the voice from the shore. "And they straightway left 
their nets, and followed him." Their obedience to the 
singular call thus addressed to them, was prompt and 
cheerful. They did not think it unreasonable. They 
were not unprepared for it. They were not indisposed to 
it. Whatever it might involve, they were content. What- 
ever might hold them back, or stand in their way, they 
were resolved. And, without either delay or reluctance, 
they forsook every thing at the Saviour's bidding, and 
followed him. 

With them the authority of Christ was paramount ; his 
claims upon them were unquestioned : their love to him 
overpowered every consideration of business, family, and 
home. For him all was at once and willingly sacrificed : 
" They straightway left their nets, and followed him." 

But we are told that it was little, after all, that Peter 
left for Christ, — only his boat and his nets. Only these ! 
And what had he beside ? Can a man leave more than 
his all? And is the "all" of one man more to him than 
the "all" of another man is to him? The "all" of 



THE BUSY FISHERMAN HAILED EEOAI THE SHORE. 17 

Peter, though including only his boat and his nets, was as 
much to him as the "all" of Herod, in yonder sumptuous 
palace. It was on this principle our Lord estimated the 
comparative value of what was cast into the treasury by 
rich persons and by the poor widow. She cast in two mites, 
which make one farthing; and the Redeemer said, "She 
hath cast in more than they all ; for they have cast in of 
their abundance, but she of her penury hath cast in all her 
living," — all that she possessed. God looks at the heart ; 
and the principle and motive determine the quality of the 
action. \Yhen a man sacrifices his all for Christ, whether 
that all be much or little, it matters not, — the principle of 
sacrifice has been perfectly developed. 

" Follow me," said the voice from the shore ► " Follow 
me," that is to say, Become my disciples. Place yourselves 
under my teaching, and learn my doctrine. Identify 
yourselves with me and my cause. Come and be my 
immediate personal attendants. " Follow me " to the 
work which I have come to fulfil. My work is to do the 
will of Him that sent me. My mission is to teach man- 
kind ; to make God known ; to bring life and immortality 
to light ; to establish the kingdom of righteousness, peace, 
and joy in the Holy Ghost. I am come to seek and to 
save that which is lost. My sheep have been scattered 
without a shepherd. They wander on the mountains, or 
stray in the wilderness. I go to seek for them. "Follow 
me;" break away from the ordinary duties of your calling, 
■ — from the attractions of home, — from familiar scenes and 

c 



18 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

loved associations ; " follow me " to strange places, — 
through paths of difficulty, — to toil, to danger, and to 
death. 

Probably, the full import of this call was not then 
understood by Peter. But we have no reason to suppose, 
that if it had been, he would have hesitated to obey. There 
came another time when the same words were addressed 
to him, and then it was after years of experience of what 
was implied in following Christ ; and not only so, but 
when the future was unveiled before him, — when he had 
been informed that to follow Christ would lead him to a 
violent end, — to the painful and ignominious death of 
crucifixion. "When thou wast young," said Christ to 
him, "thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou 
wouldest ; but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch 
fovth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry 
thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signify- 
ing by what death he should glorify God. And when he 
had spoken this, he saith unto him, Polio w me." (John 
xxi. 18, 19.) Peter did not quail before the vision of a 
violent death ; he did not shrink from the path of duty, 
though he knew it was to end on a cross. 

But what are these words to us ? Have we any con- 
cern with them ? Unquestionably we have. The words, 
" Polio w me," had, indeed, an extent of meaning, when 
addressed to Peter, which they have not when addressed 
to us. They nevertheless comprehensively set forth our 
highest duty, and exhibit our greatest privilege. In fol- 



THE BUSY FISHERMAN HAILED FROM THE SHORE. 19 

lowing Christ the loftiest style of human excellence is 
acquired and exemplified. In the various relationships of 
life which you sustain ; in the sphere in which Divine 
Providence has placed you; within the circle of your 
home, there are a multitude of duties devolving upon 
you ; — duties which you cannot neglect without wronging 
others, and sinning against your own soul. You have 
your worldly calling to attend to ; your place in life to 
occupy ; the anxieties of business to sustain : but the one 
grand and all-comprehending duty is, to follow Christ. Do 
this, and you will do every thing you ought to do ; neg- 
lect it, and the very end of your being is unanswered. 
This duty of following Christ may be fulfilled in the 
midst of the family, — in the workshop, — in the counting- 
house, — or on the exchange. To be followers of Christ 
implies, that you are guided by his truth, influenced by 
his Spirit, and governed by his laws ; and that you are 
imitating his example, and ever seeking his honour and 
glory. We have nothing of more moment to address to 
you : we have nothing better to recommend to you : no 
higher distinction can be attained by you, tlran is expressed 
in these two words, " Follow me." 

Follow Christ, and, although you be utter strangers to 
education, literature, and science, you will display a wis- 
dom superior to that of the proudest philosopher, — " the 
wisdom that cometh from above." Follow Christ, and, 
although the wealthy, the great, and the noble know you 
not, or may treat you with scorn, your companions will 

c % 



20 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

be the excellent of the earth, the loved ones of heaven, 
the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty. Follow 
Christ, and, though the path may be narrow and rough, 
though the journey may be toilsome and difficult, prose- 
cuted amidst opposition and trial, cheer up : it leads you 
to the land afar off, where you shall behold the King in 
his beauty. Follow Christ, and, although the path may 
lead to a prison, he will be with you, sustaining you with 
his favour, filling you with joy and gladness, so that, 
like Paul and Silas in the dungeon at Philippi, you will 
sing praises to God. Follow Christ, and, if in the 
inscrutable providence of God you should even be led to a 
violent death, "rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is 
your reward in the kingdom of heaven." Follow Christ, 
and whatever the character of the journey, or the time 
which it may occupy, it will terminate amidst the satis- 
factions and glories of the heavenly world. " Father, I 
will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me 
where I am, that they may behold my glory." 

Observe that Peter was hailed from the shore at the 
very moment when he was busily engaged in the ordinary 
duties of his humble calling. Nor is this an uncommon 
course of procedure on the part of God ; for we find that 
some of the most remarkable calls to the divine service 
were addressed to individuals while actually engaged in 
their worldly calling. As in the example of Moses, while 
keeping the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, by Horeb, 
he saw the bush burning with fire, and heard the voice of 



THE BUSY FISHERMAN HAILED FROM THE SHORE. 21 

God, and received his commission to deliver Israel from 
Egypt. David was called in from the fields where he 
watched his sheep, to be anointed by the Prophet King 
of Jndah. It was while Elisha was ploughing with 
twelve yoke of oxen before him, that Elijah came and cast 
his mantle upon him, and thus called him to the pro- 
phetic office. But it is unnecessary to multiply examples. 
Xo man need be ashamed of an honest calling. God has 
hallowed and given dignity to it. Peter the fisherman, 
and Paul the tent-maker, in short, " the working men" of 
our Saviour's time, were the parties whom he chose, and 
whom he delighted to honour. Man was evidently made 
for active employment, and idleness is a sin against God's 
manifest design, against the in dividual' s own health, and 
against society at large, which has a right to require that, 
in some department or other, every man shall contribute 
his share in the common toiL 

And instead of an industrious application to the duties 
of our worldly calling interfering with the practice or 
enjoyment of true religion, it may be an important means 
of developing that religion in all its truth and blessedness 
and power, and of bringing a large revenue of glory to 
God. Genuine piety is never more lovely, more mani- 
festly divine, than when it is seen in the ordinary walks 
of life, governing the motives, elevating the moral cha- 
racter, and directing the whole course of the man's 
actions, so that every word and work is brought into 
agreement with the revealed will of God. When "the 



22 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

doctrine of God our Saviour " is thus "adorned in all 
tilings," religion presents itself to those around in a clear 
and beautiful light, and they are led to glorify our Father 
which is in heaven. 

Thus living in the spirit and exemplifying the purity 
and power of the Gospel, the most insignificant actions of 
life become, in fact, part and parcel of our religion ; and 
it will be easy to understand how, in such a case, indivi- 
duals are ready prepared for the manifestation of God's 
gracious presence and favour at any time and in any place. 
The truth is, that, wherever they may be, they are in the 
path of God, and, therefore, are not surprised to meet with 
him. With whatever their hands may be employed, they 
are still about the Master's work, and can rejoice in his 
approval. They walk with God, and do not startle when 
they hear his voice, as though some strange sound had 
unexpectedly fallen upon their ear. O how often have 
his saints been gladdened by the uplifting of his counte- 
nance upon them, and by the kindlings of his love 
within, not only in " the place of the holy," where songs 
of praise and the voice of prayer are heard, but in the 
street also, the field, the workshop, and the place of busi- 
ness ! In all these places they have been constrained to 
say, " This is the gate of heaven." 

The call now addressed to Peter was to public service, 
and not merely to discipleship. " I will make you fishers 
of men." I will employ you in my own service, as 
preachers of my Gospel; and your business shall be to 



THE BUSY FXSHEKMAN HAILED FROM THE SHOEE. 23 

save the souls of men. At a subsequent period, they 
were fully instructed in the duties of this sacred calling. 
" Go/' said Jesus to the twelve, "to the lost sheep of the 
house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The king- 
dom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the 
lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils : freely ye have 
received, freely give." (Matt. x. 6-8.) 

So far as this was a call to the apostleship, it was 
doubtless peculiar, to the twelve. They were to be the 
infallible teachers of his doctrine, the witnesses of his 
resurrection, the founders of his church. The Apostles, 
as Apostles, have had no successors. Their office was 
peculiar ; their work was extraordinary ; and their endow- 
ments were preternatural and divine. But in carrying on 
that work which they were divinely called to commence, 
a succession of men have been raised up in the providence 
of God, and qualified to preach the Gospel, which is " the 
power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." 
Between preachers of the Gospel and the Apostles of 
Christ, there are things in common which we must not 
overlook. Divine call and divine qualification are equally 
essential in the one case as in the other. " Xo man 
taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of 
God." A man-made ministry is not the ministry of 
Christ. He will not yield his prerogative to any autho- 
rity or power whatsoever. A man may be instructed as 
at the feet of Gamaliel, trained at the University, and be 
accomplished as a scholar ; but all the Doctors and Uni- 



24 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

versities in Christendom cannot make him a Minister. 
That is Christ's work. He gives to the chnrch Pastors 
and teachers. We do not in the least degree undervalue 
the advantages of a liberal education; but they are no 
substitute for a call from God. Secure these by all 
means ; but let the man who possesses them be also able 
to say, that he is " inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to 
take upon him this office and work of the ministry." 

And let it be further observed, that this call was 
addressed to one who was already a disciple of Christ, 
whose heart was already touched by divine grace. There 
is a moral and religious qualification essential to Christian 
service. The unconverted are not called to be Ministers 
of Christ. " Unto the wicked God hath said, What hast 
thou to do to declare my statutes?" When the blind 
attempt to lead the blind, the probability is, that both will 
fall into the ditch. No heavier calamity can befall a 
church than to have placed over it an unconverted minis- 
try. It is frightful to contemplate the consequences 
which have resulted from regarding the Christian minis- 
try as a mere profession. For the sake of "filthy lucre," 
and of placing them in a respectable position in society, 
worldly and unsanctified men have been obtruded into the 
holy office; and the consequences have been, that the 
preaching of the word has become powerless, and the 
ordinances of the sanctuary barren. " The form of god- 
liness " may have been maintained, but "the power" 
has been unknown. 



THE BUSY FISHERMAN HAILED FROM THE SHORE. 25 

The teaching and grace of God are essential to consti- 
tute a fitness for the office and work of the holy ministry. 
Only those who are thus divinely fitted, are divinely 
called. "And miserable are those who do not wait for 
this call; who presume to take the name of 'fishers of 
men, 5 and know not how to cast the net of the Divine 
word, because not brought to an acquaintance with the 
saving power of the God who bought them. Such 
persons, having only their secular interest in view, study 
not to catch men, but to catch money : and though, for 
charity's sake, it may be said of a Pastor of this spirit, 
he does not enter the sheepfold as a thief, yet he certainly 
lives as a hireling." 

" Some teach to work, but have no hands to row ; 

Some will be eyes, but have no light to see ; 
Some will be guides, but have no feet to go ; 

Some Deaf, yet Ears, some Dumb, yet Tongues will be : 
Dumb, Deaf, Lame, Blind, and ATaim'd, yet Fishers all ! 
Fit for no use but store an Hosjntal." 

The call we are now considering was addressed to 
fishermen of Galilee. Men of this class were to be the 
associates of Christ, — to be co-adjutors with him in the 
establishment and administration of his spiritual kingdom. 
He chose "the foolish things of the world to confound the 
wise ; the weak things of the world to confound the 
mighty ; and base things of the world, and things which 
are despised, yea, and things which are not, to bring to 
nought things that are : that no flesh should glory in 
his presence." (1 Cor. i. 27-29.) 



26 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

This is a contrary course to what we might have 
expected him to pursue. " We might have supposed that 
he would look to men of influence, authority, and weight ; 
that, being himself destitute of all the advantages of rank, 
power, wealth, and learning, he would endeavour to 
compensate for those defects in his own person by the 
contrary qualities of his associates, by connecting himself 
with some of the most powerful, most opulent, most 
learned, and most eloquent men of his time. 

"And this most undoubtedly would have been the 
mode of proceeding, had the object been to establish his 
religion by mere human means, by influence or by force, 
by the charms of eloquence, by the powers of reason, by 
the example, by the authority, by the fashion of the 
great. But these were not the instruments which Christ 
meant to make use of. He meant to show that he was 
above them all ; that he had far other resources, far 
different auxiliaries, to call in to his support, in comparison 
with which all the wealth, and magnificence, and power, 
and wisdom of the world, were trivial and contemptible 
things. We find, therefore, that not the wise, not the 
mighty, not the noble, were called to co-operate with 
him ; but men of the meanest birth, of the lowest occu- 
pations, of the humblest talents, and most uncultivated 
minds. These were the men whom he selected for his 
companions and assistants. These fishermen of Galilee 
were to be, under him, the instruments of overthrowing 
the stupendous and magnificent system of Paganism and 



THE BUSY FISHERMAN HAILED FROM THE SHORE. 27 

idolatry throughout the world, aud producing the greatest 
change, the most general and important revolution, in 
principles, in morals, and in religion, that ever took 
place on this globe. For this astonishing work, these 
simple, illiterate, humble men were singled out by our 
Lord. 

" Such were the associates chosen by Him who was 
the Delegate of heaven, and whose help was from above. 
We may expect that an impostor, who meant to rely on 
liuriian means for success, would take a directly contrary 
course. And this we find, in fact, to be the case. Who 
were the companions and assistants selected by the grand 
impostor Mahomet ? They were men of the most weight, 
and authority, and rank, and influence, among his coun- 
trymen. The reason is obvious : lie wanted such sup- 
ports ; Christ did not : and hence the marked difference 
of their conduct in this instance." * 

" My kingdom is not of this world." Not only is this 
kingdom essentially different from the kingdoms of this 
world in regard to its principles, duties, and blessings, 
but also in the means employed by the Kedeemer for its 
establishment in the world, as well as in the subsequent 
management of its affairs. His whole procedure was 
unearthly. The influence of rank and of wealth was 
undesired; the civil power was unsought; the force of 
arms was openly repudiated. His kingdom was to be 

* Dr. Porteus. 



28 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEE. 

maintained neither by might nor by power, but by the 
Spirit of the Lord. 

There is only one thing in connexion with this upon 
which a single observation may be necessary ; and that is, 
that this call of illiterate fishermen to be the Apostles of 
Christ, is not to be taken as countenancing the intrusion 
of uneducated and ignorant men into the ministry of the 
Gospel. It is never to be forgotten, that the Apostles 
had special advantages which cannot be enjoyed now. 
They had the teaching of Him in whom were hid all the 
treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and who " spake as 
never man spake. 55 They enjoyed this teaching not only 
in common with the people in public, but also in private ; 
for when they were alone, he expounded all things pri- 
vately to them. And after this grand advantage had 
ceased to be enjoyed, they had the plenary gifts of the 
Spirit of God showered down upon them on the Day of 
Pentecost. 

One word more, and I have done. Would that the 
Saviour would make us "fishers of men! 55 that he 
would not only assign this to us as our calling, but make 
us successful in it ! We have heard his voice saying, 
" Follow me, 55 and of his boundless grace have been 
enabled to obey. Eut we are not content merely to 
preach his truth, and, within our province, administer the 
affairs of his spiritual kingdom. We would win souls to 
him ; we would be successful in converting sinners from 
the error of their way, and thus saving souls from death. 



THE BUSY FISHERMAN HAILED FROM THE SHORE. 29 

for the renewal of our commission ! the anointing 
from above ! 

that this voice of Christ might again be heard ! 
that he would speak once more to his servants ! The 
circumstances of the times may perhaps be thought unfa- 
vourable to our hearing. It is not now as when he stood 
on the shore of Galilee, and called to Peter. All w r as 
then clear and calm ; but now clouds and thick vapours 
obscure the sky ; the wind comes in fitful gusts, or 
sweeps onwards with hurricane strength; the sea is 
troubled, and the hearts of many are failing them for fear, 
while looking at the things that are coming on the earth. 
The earth itself is heaving ; masses of men are in motion ; 
new combinations of forces are coming into play ; social, 
political, and religious changes are taking place ; the ear is 
engaged ; the mind is distracted ; the attention and ener- 
gies are absorbed. All this may be admitted, but we must 
not forget that He of whom we are speaking can make His 
voice heard in the storm as well as in the calm. WTien 
Galilee is still, he hails from the shore. When Galilee 
yields to the gale, when the waves thereof rise and are 
whitened with foam, he speaks from the deck of the ship, 
saying, " Peace, be still." In either case his voice is heard 
and obeyed. O that he w T ould speak again, and hush 
the strife of tongues ! that he would say again to 
his servants, " Follow me ;" leave your favourite literary 
pursuits, your haunts of learned leisure, the sylvan scenes 
where you have retired to rest as if your work was done ! 



30 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST PETER. 

" Follow me," from the salons of the gay, the accom- 
plished, and the beautiful; from the society of learned 
and scientific men; from worldly politics, and courtly 
intrigues, come away. Men are perishing around you; 
myriads are dark and alienated from the life of God ; the 
sheep for whom the Shepherd died are ungathered and 
untended. " Follow me, and I will make you fishers of 
men." I will give you the highest employment, and 
succeed it with the noblest results : " Follow me." 

that in answer to the cries of his elect he would 
speak again! Head of the Church, thy saints are 
praying :— 

" Give the pure word of general grace, 

And great shall be the preachers* crowd ; 
Preachers who all the sinful race 
Point to the all-atoning blood. 

" Open their mouth, and utterance give ; 
Give them a trumpet- voice, to call 
On all mankind to true and live, 

Through faith in Him who died for all. 

" Thy only glory let them seek ; 

O let their hearts with love o'erflow ! 
Let them believe, and therefore speak, 
And spread thy mercy's praise below." 



SCENE II. 

THE GRACIOUS ONE HEALS THE FISHERMAN'S 
MOTHER-IN-LAW. 

" And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, lie saw his wife's 
mother laid, and sick of a fever. And he touched her hand, and 
the fever left her : and she arose, and ministered unto them." — 
Matt. viii. 14, 15. 

The Gospel narratives of our Saviour's miracles are 
characterized by a singular and beautiful simplicity. 
Their style is altogether different from that which ordi- 
nary writers would have employed in recording such 
wonderful works. Most of the accounts are comprised 
in few words, and those the plainest possible. No parti- 
cular attempt is made to arrest the attention of the reader, 
or to awaken his admiration or surprise. The facts 
themselves constitute almost the only appeal to his imagi- 
nation. A brief and comprehensive statement of the facts 
is presented to us, in such language as would be employed, 
were the most ordinary and common-place occurrences of 
life being related. 

At the same time it is to be observed, that there is 
nothing either bald or feeble in these divine narratives, 
nothing with which the purest and most cultivated taste 
can be offended. On the contrary, the candid and devout 
reader is charmed by their inimitable beauty and power, 

D 



6Z SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

and affected in such a way as he cannot be by any merely 
human composition. 

From this remarkable simplicity of style, a very fair 
argument for the truth and divinity of the writings may 
be deduced. A plain statement of facts is deemed suffi- 
cient. No feeble aid of rhetoric or poetry, no meretri- 
cious ornament, is required. The facts are confidently 
left to tell their own tale, and to make their own impres- 
sion. It may be truly said, that not the words which 
man's wisdom teacheth, but the words which the Holy 
Ghost teacheth, have been employed. And our faith is 
thus made to stand, not in the wisdom of man, but in 
the power of God. 

The miracles of Christ constituted one of the leading 
evidences of his Messiahship. To this evidence he fre- 
quently appealed as unanswerable : " The works which 
the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that 
I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me." 
(John v. 36.) "The works that I do in my Father's 
name, they bear witness of me." (John x. 25.) " If I do 
not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, 
though ye believe not me, believe the works : that ye may 
know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in him.' , 
(John x. 37, 38.) To multitudes of the people, the evi- 
dence of these miraculous works was clear and conclusive. 
And persons who were thoroughly convinced, demanded 
of others who were doubtful and unbelieving, whether they 
could suppose, that " when Christ cometh, he will do more 



CHRIST HEALS THE FISHERMAN'S MOTHER-IN-LAW. 33 

miracles than these which this man doeth." "Whatever 
may be said as to the Scribes and Pharisees and Rulers, 
the general conviction of the public mind was, that no 
man could do the miracles that Christ did, unless God 
were with him. 

Eishop Porteus has very ably put the argument for the 
necessity of miracles as an evidence of the divine mission 
of Christ. He supposes the disciples to say to Christ, 
" You have called upon us to repent and to reform ; you 
have commanded us to renounce our vices, to relinquish 
our favourite pleasures and pursuits, to give up the world 
and its enjoyments, and to take up our cross and follow 
you ; and, in return for this, you promise us distinguished 
happiness and honour in u your spiritual kingdom. You 
speak, it is true, most forcibly to our consciences and to 
our hearts, and we feel strongly disposed to obey your 
injunctions, and to credit your promises ; but still the 
sacrifice we are required to make is a great one, and the 
conflict we have to go through is a bitter one. We find 
it a most painful struggle to subdue confirmed habits, and 
to part at once with all our accustomed pleasures and 
indulgences. Before, then, we can entirely relinquish 
these, and make a complete change in the temper of our 
souls, and the conduct of our lives, we must have some 
convincing proof that you have a right to require this 
compliance at our hands ; and that what you enjoin us is 
in reality the command of God himself; that you are 
actually sent from heaven, and commissioned by him to 

D 2 



34 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

teach us his will, and to instruct us in our duty ; that the 
kingdom you hold out to us in another world is something 
more than mere imagination : that you are, in short, what 
you pretend to be, the Son of God ; and that you are able 
to make good the punishment you denounce against sin, 
and the rewards you promise to virtue. 

" Our Lord well knew that this sort of reasoning must 
occur to every man's mind. He knew that it was highly 
proper and indispensably necessary to give some evidence 
of his divine commission, to do something which should 
satisfy the world that he was the Son of God, and the 
delegate of heaven. And how could he do this so 
effectually as by performing works which it utterly 
exceeded all the strength and ability of man to accom- 
plish, and which nothing less than the hand of God him- 
self could possibly bring to pass ? And when such works 
were actually performed ; when they saw him give eyes to 
the blind, feet to the lame, health to the sick, and even life 
to the dead, by speaking only a few words ; what other 
conclusion could they possibly draw, than that which the 
Centurion did, ' Truly this was the Son of God ?'" 

Beside supplying this conclusive evidence of the divine 
mission of Christ, the evangelical accounts of his miracles 
are deeply interesting, as a subject of Christian study, on 
other grounds ; as, for example, on the ground of their 
extraordinary adaptation to illustrate important spiritual 
truth. So perfect and uniform is this adaptation, as to 
make it difficult to find a single fact or incident, in the 



CHRIST HEALS THE FISHERMAN'S MOTHER-IN-LAW. 35 

sacred story, which, is not capable, without the least 
straining or violence, of explaining a point of doctrine, or 
exhibiting a Christian privilege, or inculcating a religious 
duty. A clear and beautiful — we might almost say, a 
fascinating — light is thrown by these accounts upon the 
things that belong to our peace and salvation. Many 
have felt, in reading them, somewhat as the two disciples 
did, during their conversation with Christ, on the road to 
Emmaus. He was expounding the Scriptures to them, — 
throwing light upon what had been obscure and hidden, 
and giving a new interest to what was already familiar ; 
and they said afterwards, "Did not our hearts burn 
within us, while He talked with us by the way, and 
opened to us the Scriptures ?" 

No wonder that these narratives should affect us in a simi- 
lar way. They are the records of a benevolence and power 
unparalleled in the history of the world. They are given 
to us that we might believe that Jesus is the Son of God, 
and that believing we might have life through his name. 
The miracles of Christ are the tokens of his love, as well 
as the evidences of his power, and the seals of his divine 
commission. It was love — divine, ineffable, and ever- 
lasting love — that brought him down from heaven ; and 
his entire life on earth was a life of purest love. It was 
love to man that dictated the discourses of wisdom he 
delivered; it was love to man that moved him to put 
forth his power, and heal the sick, give eye-sight to the 
blind, and raise the dead. It was love to man that 



36 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

brought him to poverty and suffering, and to death upon 
the cross. He lived and laboured but to love and bless. 
The most comprehensive epitome of his character and life 
is that given us by St. Luke, — he "went about doing 
good." In this mission of love, — this march of benevo- 
lence, — all time and place were alike to him. At early 
morn, at noon, or night, he was doing good. In the 
synagogue or in the dwelling-place, on the way-side or 
on the billowy deep, he looked, or spoke, or touched, and 
tears were dried, and health restored. 

AW now direct attention to one of these miracles of 
healing, — the healing of Peter's mother-in-law. This 
miracle was wrought on the Sabbath-day, immediately 
after coming out of the synagogue at Capernaum. It 
will be recollected, that the Saviour usually resided at 
Capernaum. In consequence of this, it is emphatically 
called, "his own city." (Matt. ix. 1.) It was the scene 
of his ministry, and of some of his mightiest works. In 
these respects, it was honoured above all other places. 
To use the Eedeemer's own language, it was " exalted 
unto heaven." No city was ever so privileged; but, 
alas ! how sadly it failed to improve the same. Heavenly 
light was shining on it day by day, and yet it remained in 
darkness. Miracles were done in it ; but the people 
believed not. They would not recognise Christ as the 
Messiah ; they would not receive his truth, though con- 
firmed by works which only the Almighty could accom- 
plish. Their impenitence and unbelief drew down upon 



CHRIST HEALS THE FISHERMAN'S MOTHER-IN-LAW. 37 

them the most fearful denunciations which the Saviour's 
lips had ever uttered. "And thou, Capernaum, which 
art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell : 
for if the mighty works which have been done in thee had 
been done in Sodom, it had remained until this day. 
But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for 
the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for 
thee." (Matt. xi. 23, 24.) As far as the place itself is 
concerned, the terrible denunciation has been terribly ful- 
filled. The very memorial of it is perished. The place 
where it stood is unknown. Travellers point to ruins 
here, and ruins there, as on the site of this once renowned 
metropolis of Galilee ; but all is mere conjecture. Let us 
be admonished by the fate of Capernaum. Let us think 
of our privileges in tluV land of Bibles and of Sabbaths, 
and diligently endeavour to improve them, lest we should 
come into like fearful condemnation. 

For we are well assured that the principle upon which 
Capernaum was judged, is that upon which we shall be 
judged also. The principle applies, not merely to a 
country, or a city, or a community of men, but to indi- 
viduals. This is plainly the doctrine of Christ in the fol- 
lowing passage : " That servant which knew his lord's 
will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to 
his will, shall be. beaten with many stripes. But he that 
knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall 
be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much 
is given, of him shall be much required : and to whom 



38 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

men have committed much, of him they will ask the 
more." (Luke xii. 47, 48.) The clearer and more abun- 
dant the light shining around us, and the greater will be 
the condemnation if we remain in darkness. The more 
numerous our opportunities of being saved, and the more 
manifest will be our folly, and the more aggravated our 
guilt, if we are lost. The larger the means of usefulness 
with which we are intrusted, and the more fearful will be 
our punishment, if we prove idle and unprofitable ser- 
vants. The measure of our privilege is the measure of 
our responsibility, and will be also the measure of our 
doom, if that privilege is unimproved. 

Where is the country favoured of God as our own is ? 
Where is the land in which are found so many copies of 
the oracles of truth, and in which so many valuable evan- 
gelical agencies are at work ? Where else are the blessings 
of civil and religious liberty combined, so rich and abun- 
dant ? May we not say, that Providence and Grace have 
joined together to make ours the joy of all lands ? But 
Capernaum, exalted to heaven with privilege, and then 
brought down to hell in punishment, admonishes us to 
rejoice with trembling. The Lord grant us mercy to be 
faithful ! May he teach us to know the day of our visita- 
tion, and give us grace to walk in the light, disperse it 
abroad, and bring glory to him ! 

But to return to the account before us. The Redeemer 
was in the habit of regularly attending the synagogue at 
Capernaum on the Sabbath-days ; and frequently took the 



CHKIST HEALS THE FISHERMAN'S MOTHER-IN-LAW. 39 

opportunity of instructing the people. On the day to 
which we are now referring, he had found in the syna- 
gogue " a man which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and 
cried out with a loud voice, saying, Let us alone ; what 
have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Xazareth? art 
thou come to destroy us ? I know thee who thou art ; 
the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, 
Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the 
devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, 
and hurt him not. And they were all amazed, and spake 
among themselves, saying, \Yhat a word is this ! for with 
authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, 
and they come out. And the fame of him went out to every 
place of the country round about." (Luke iv. 33-37.) 

Having performed this act of mercy to the poor man, — 
delivering him from his torments ; and of power over the 
devil, — casting him out : Jesus and his disciples imme- 
diately rose, and left the synagogue. As they walk 
along, we can easily suppose that the disciples are talking 
of what they have just seen and heard in the synagogue. 
Their conversation turns upon the words of divine wis- 
dom the Saviour had delivered ; and the word of power 
by which, in a moment, the devil was cast out. As they 
talk about this marvellous power of Christ, they remem- 
ber the afflicted state of Peter's mother-in-law, — "sick 
of a fever." In the course of their conversation, we can 
easily suppose the question to arise, " Could not this 
same power, which we have witnessed in the synagogue, 



40 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

cure this afflicted woman in the house to which we are 
going ? Would it be more difficult to cure a fever, than 
to cast out a devil?" The more they think of this, and 
talk about it, the more confident and hopeful they 
become. At length they are all agreed to state the case 
to Christ; appealing to his well-known kindness, and 
nothing doubtful of his power. " Anon they tell him of 
her." Jesus and his disciples are now walking to the 
very house where this sick woman is. He will, no doubt, 
learn her case ; probably, see the afflicted one : but they 
endeavour to interest him beforehand. "They tell him 
of her;" describe her case; mention the relationship 
between her and Peter, one of his favoured disciples. Nor 
did they content themselves with a bare statement of her 
case; for we are told, that "they besought him for her." 
They felt a strong and affectionate interest in this woman, 
and united their utmost efforts in her behalf. Their 
request for her is earnest and importunate. They will 
not take it for granted, that the compassion of Christ 
will be moved, and his hand put forth to heal her, as a 
matter of course. But they make a direct and urgent 
application to him. " They besought him for her : " — 
they believe in their Master's power, and they beseech 
him to exert it, and cure this woman. 

This is written for our instruction: their conduct 
describes our duty : the same sort of application must 
be made by us. Prayer and faith are necessary to our 
being interested in the saving power of Christ. No 



CHRIST HEALS THE FISHERMAN'S MOTHER-IN-LAW. 41 

doubt he already knows our case ; perfectly knows it, 
apart from any statement which we may make. There 
is nothing hidden from him. He needs not that any 
man should testify to him. The ignorance that is in 
us ; the guilt that is upon us ; the sin that denies us ; 
the difficulties that surround us ; the dangers that threaten 
us ; the enemies that seek our ruin ; are all under his 
eye, and perfectly known to him. But we are not war- 
ranted in supposing that he will heal and deliver us as a 
matter of course. We are required to state our case to 
him, to make known our request. He will have us pray. 
"Ask, and ye shall receive." "They tell him of her," 
and " beseech him for her." 

Observe, this prayerful and believing application was 
not made for themselves, but for anotJier. Nor can any 
one of us be indifferent to the happiness of those around 
us, without violating the Second great Commandment, 
" Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." As often 
"as we pray, " Our Father which art in heaven," we are 
reminded that every man is our brother. And if our 
brother be in " sorrow, need, sickness, or any other 
adversity," it is our duty to comfort and relieve him as 
we have the means and opportunity. It is our privilege 
to bring him, in the prayer of faith, before Him who is 
our Elder Brother in the skies, and whose heart is full of 
love, and his hand of power. True, the condition of my 
kindred is already known to him, — the case of my bro- 
ther or sister, my father or mother, my husband, or wife, 



42 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

or child. He sees their ignorance, worldliness, and sin. 
I cannot give him any information. But I am not there- 
fore excused from telling him about their sad condition ; 
or from humbly and earnestly beseeching him to have 
compassion, and save them. Prayer is our duty, whether 
the good desired is for ourselves or others. " For all 
these things I will be inquired of by the house of Israel 
to do them for them." 

We have supposed it probable, that this application of 
the disciples to Christ was made in the course of their 
walk from the synagogue. But where are they walking 
to ? The answer is, To " Peter's house." " Peter's 
house ! " How is this ? Was it not this same Peter 
who was hailed from the shore, and told by Christ to 
follow him ? And are we not told that, immediately on 
hearing that voice, he cheerfully obeyed? Are we not 
given to understand that he left boat, nets, friends, 
house, and all, at the call of the Saviour? Is not this 
the very man who said to his Master, " Lo, we have left 
all, and followed thee;" and who put this fact in as a 
plea for compensation, — "What shall we have therefore?" 
How comes it, then, that he still retains a property in his 
house ? that this is still "Peter's house ?" This is a point 
worthy of being carefully examined. It is important that 
we should clearly and fully understand it, as containing 
the illustration of a principle essential to Christian disci- 
pleship. It may be generally observed, that to leave or 
forsake all for Christ is not always, or necessarily, to be 



CHRIST HEALS THE FISHERMAN'S MOTHER-IN-LAW. 43 

understood as meaning the actual renunciation or aban- 
donment of either property, station, or friends. That 
persons are sometimes required, in this literal sense, to 
give up all for Christ, is no doubt true ; and the willing - 
ness to do so is required in every case. To the rich young 
man who came to Christ inquiring what he must do to 
inherit eternal life, the answer was, " Sell all that thou 
hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure 
in heaven : and come, follow me." He was required lite- 
rally to part with every thing. And no doubt this was 
necessary in his case. His wealth was his idol : he loved 
it, and worshipped it. He preferred it to Christ; and, 
refusing to part with it, he went away sorrowful that he 
could not attain eternal life on any other terms. Christ 
will be loved supremely. He must have the whole heart. 
He will permit no rival. He will be preferred to every 
person, and to every thing. " He that loveth father or 
mother more than me is not worthy of me : and he that 
loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of 
me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth 
after me, is not worthy of me." (Matt. x. 37, 38.) When 
of two things presented to us we make our choice of one, 
that one is the thing preferred; the thing to which, for 
some reason or other, we attach the greatest importance, 
the highest value. There are times when men's minds 
are tested with regard to this, and they are called to 
make their election : — when, for example, great questions 
of principle are being discussed ; when the tide sets in 



44 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

against religion, and the saints are subjected to persecu- 
tion for righteousness' sake. In such times it comes to 
this : cc If I maintain what I regard as truth and Christian 
principle, or, in other words, if I hold to and follow 
Christ, I must give offence to my friends; forfeit the 
patronage of some upon whom I have depended; lose 
my situation ; be deprived of my goods, my liberty, my 
life." Now, in such a case, reason, religion, and Christ 
require that I should renounce all, suffer all, rather than 
cease to love and obey my Divine and Gracious Eedeemer. 
Our affections are to be set upon things which are above, 
and not upon tilings that are on earth; so that if 
the things that are on earth in any way interfere with, or 
would prevent us from attaining, the things which are 
above, we must forsake earth, and cleave to heaven. 

In general, then, we may say, that to forsake all for 
Christ, is to place all at his disposal, to sit entirely loose 
to every thing ; so that, if it be necessary, we are pre- 
pared actually to sacrifice and abandon all at Jiis bidding. 
It is not so much the doing of this, as the perfect willing- 
ness to do it, which we are to understand by leaving all 
for Christ. Peter thus retains his house ; but he leaves 
it at any time when Christ requires him to do so. He 
holds his property; but it is subject to the claims of 
Christ : he places it wholly at Christ's disposal ; and while 
he continues to pursue the duties of his worldly calling, he 
is ready to interrupt them at any time, and at a moment's 
notice. 



CHKIST HEALS THE FISHERMAN'S MOTHER-IN-LAW. -±5 

Not are we now, blessed be God, without noble exam- 
ples of this spirit of sacrifice in the cause of Christ. 
There are not a few among the poor of our land, to whom 
the language of St. Paul, in writing of the Macedonian 
churches, might be truthfully applied : " In a great trial 
of affliction, the abundance of their joy, and their deep 
poverty, abounded unto the riches of their liberality. 
For to their power, (I bear record,) yea, and beyond their 
power, they were willing of themselves ; praying us with 
much entreaty, that we would receive the gift.'' 

There are others whose liberalities, though large, form 
but a small portion of their sacrifice for Christ ; their 
time and talents and influence are all devoted to him. 
Their language is : — 

cc My Saviour, how shall I proclaim, 
How pay the mighty debt I owe ? 
Let all I have and all I am 

Ceaseless to all thy glory show. 

" Too much to thee I cannot give, 
Too much I canuot do for thee ; 
Let all thy love and all thy grief 
Graven on my heart for ever be ! " 

And do we not witness the same spirit in the heralds of 
the cross ? How many at the call of Christ have cheer- 
fully gone forth to distant lands to preach his Gospel to 
the perishing ! The ties of kindred have been severed ; 
the endearments and the comforts of home have been aban- 
doned ; the pleasures of friendship and of the social circle 
have been given up ; the blessings of civilized life, and 



46 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

the attractions of their native country, have been sacri- 
ficed at the call of Christ. These men have gone forth to 
the ends of the earth, rejoicing that they were counted 
worthy, even in inhospitable climes and among savage 
men, surrounded with every thing that was frightful and 
disgusting, to cry, " Behold the Lamb ! " The churches 
of Christendom have, of late years, had occasion to glorify 
God in many who were worthy to take up the language 
of the Apostle of the Gentiles, and say, "Neither count I 
my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my 
course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of 
the Lord Jesus, to testify the Gospel of the grace of God." 
Enter we now this house of Peter, where his wife's 
mother is " sick of a fever." Before we pass into the 
sick chamber where she lies, let us for a moment notice 
Peter's wife. It is an important fact, that Peter was a 
married man ; and that most, if not all, of the Apostles 
of our Lord were married likewise. And with regard to 
New-Testament Bishops, that they were at liberty to 
marry, is evident from the words of St. Paul in writing to 
Timothy; wdierein he describes the qualifications of a 
Bishop, saying, " He must be blameless, the husband of 
one wife, ruling well his own house, having his children 
in subjection under him." The contrary doctrine to this 
is placed among the heresies and mischievous errors 
wdrich, at a subsequent period, should afflict the church 
of Christ : " Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in 
the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving 



CHRIST HEALS THE FISHERMAN'S MOTHER-IN-LAW. 4? 

heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils ; speaking 
lies in hypocrisy ; having their conscience seared with a 
hot iron; forbidding to marry" (1 Tim. iv. 1-3.) 

There are traces of this pernicious heresy at a very 
early period of the church's history. But it was reserved 
for the seducing spirits of Koine, to bind this w doctrine 
of devils " on the consciences of men. She has, by posi- 
tive laws, prohibited her Priests and others from marry- 
ing. The first laic, enjoining the celibacy of the Clergy, 
appears towards the close of the fourth century ; but it 
was not strictly carried out until the eleventh century. 
Then Pope Gregory VII. enforced it with the strictest 
coercion, as a necessary condition of priestly influence ; 
avowing that the church could not be liberated from 
lay control, unless the Clergy were liberated from their 
wives. Rome forbids her Clergy, both regular and secu- 
lar, to marry : she forbids the Monks and Xuns to marry, 
and thus practically pours contempt on the ordinance of 
God. Ajid this is not all : she prohibits marriage under 
pretence of seeking "a state of greater perfection and 
holiness :" just as if the ordinance of God were a snare, 
and inimical to Christian excellence ! We think it fair to 
ask, Has she attained this state? Has she raised her 
Clergy, by this expedient, to a higher sanctity ? Do they 
lead purer lives than others who are unfettered by this 
prohibition ? The answer is, — If all ecclesiastical records, 
and the concurrent testimony of multitudes of men in 
Popish countries, do not constitute one living lie, the 

E 



48 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

contrary is the fact. But we shrink with loathing from 
any attempt to describe the filthy practices of thousands 
of the Eomish Priesthood, as attested by historical docu- 
ments of undoubted truthfulness. If we were anxious to 
make out a case, we could easily call in the convent and 
nunnery, together with the large families of unmarried 
Priests in Popish countries, to give evidence that Eome 
has not risen to purity. But we forbear : we content 
ourselves with denouncing the whole celibate and monastic 
system as a piece of the most perfect machinery for 
the production of licentiousness and vice on the largest 
scale. It has been a blight and a curse, not only upon 
the church, but upon society at large; and if we were 
called upon to give the names, and recite the deeds, of 
some twenty of the greatest villains that have ever lived, 
— the most wicked, sensual, and beastly of men, — we 
should make our list exclusively from among the Popes of 
Home, — the so-called successors of St. Peter. Professing 
to derive their authority from him, they not only fail to 
imitate his example, but deliberately place themselves in 
antagonism to it. And although we are very far from 
attributing all that is bad in them to this, we must 
regard it as a singular inconsistency, which has led to the 
most frightful results. 

The next person in the account claiming our attention 
is " Peter's wife's mother." We only take occasion here 
to say, that the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ does 
not dissolve any of the relationships of human life, or free 



CHRIST HEALS THE FISHERMAN'S MOTHER-IN-LAW. 49 

us from any of the duties which those relationships 
involve. The Eedeenier himself set an example of filial 
piety ; first, by being subject to his parents ; and then by 
his conduct on the cross. The agony of his last hour did 
not prevent him from thinking of his mother, and ten- 
derly caring for her future comfort. " When Jesus there- 
fore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom 
he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy 
Son ! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother ! 
And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own 
home." (John xix. 26, 27.) 

Peter cared for his wife's mother, and cherished her in 
his own house. Our relatives have a claim upon us 
which none else have. We are bound to show special 
kindness to them ; and while, as we have opportunity, or 
as they need, we show this kindness in regard to the 
things of the present life, let us not be unmindful of those 
which belong to their peace and happiness in the life to 
come. The greatest kindness we can show our kindred, 
the most effectual means of promoting their highest and 
eternal good, is to bring them to Christ. They are in 
circum stances to need the Saviour's aid. They are 
poor ; but he will enrich them : they are sick ; he will 
heal them : they are lost ; he will save them. It is 
ours, in the prayer of faith, to bring them to him, that 
he may bless them with spiritual blessings in heavenly 
places. 

This woman, we are told, was " sick of a fever." St. 
e 2 



50 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

Luke, himself a physician, calls it cc a great fever;" a 
fever of the worst type, and every way likely to prove 
fatal. All sicknesses, and all degrees of them, are equally 
subject to the power of Christ; but we advert to the 
description given by St. Luke, because we think it is 
calculated to heighten our conception of the Saviour's 
ability. With regard to the impression produced upon 
the mind by seeing him lay his hands on a few persons 
suffering from disorders of a trifling nature, and healing 
them, it would not be so great as if we saw him lay his 
healing hand upon those who were labouring under the 
worst and most fatal diseases, and at once completely 
cure them. So in this case, with respect to the impres- 
sion to be produced, it is not a matter of indifference 
whether we say simply that she was cured of a fever, or 
that she was cured of a great fever ; understanding, by 
this latter, a fever of the very worst type, in the most 
advanced stage, and altogether likely to prove fatal. It 
is no doubt true, that to heal at all after this fashion, is 
only possible to Omnipotence ; but, if the case is trifling, 
it may not prove sufficient to satisfy this or that individual 
that his own case, which he considers desperate, can be 
as fully and easily met. The miracles of healing are 
undoubtedly intended to illustrate Christ's power to save ; 
to save the worst, to save to the uttermost. And, viewed 
in this light, the description of this woman's disease, as 
" a great fever," has a very important bearing, in many 
instances, on the question of personal salvation. When 



CHKIST HEALS THE FISHERMAN'S MOTHER-IN-LAW. 51 

an individual is truly awakened to a sense of his sin and 
danger, his sins appear before him in a light altogether 
different from that in which they appeared before. As 
David puts it, they are now set in the light of God's 
countenance, and are consequently seen in all their aggra- 
vation. Their number and enormity far exceed any thing 
previously imagined. Persons thus convinced thought 
themselves, a short while ago, better than others ; fancied 
that they did not need divine mercy and grace so much 
as their neighbours did; in short, that they were very 
good sort of people, and that any thing about them which 
might possibly require a little amendment could be easily 
attended to at any time ; was of so trifling a character, as 
to render a moment's uneasiness about it both unreason- 
able and unnecessary. But, since the Holy Spirit has 
convinced them of sin, their whole views and feelings are 
marvellously changed. That which seemed only as a 
grain of sand has risen into a mountain dark and frown- 
ing; the drop has become a sea, in which they are in 
danger of being engulfed. Their whole character and 
life are marked with a turpitude and vileness which over- 
whelm, them ; their condition is felt to be wretched and 
frightful to the last degree. Now, how are we to deal 
with these vivid apprehensions, and deep and distressing 
feelings ? How are we to meet the case of one who thinks 
himself the chief of sinners, and who is on the verge of 
black despair ? We reply, By showing that Christ is able 
to deal with a desperate case. 



52 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

Beside, there are unawakened men who are great sin- 
ners in point of fact, as well as awakened men who see 
and feel themselves to be such, in the light of the Bible, 
the law, and the judgment -day. There are around us 
men of debased character, who lead grossly immoral lives, 
and who are the enemies of God by wicked works. Their 
drunkenness, falsehood, and blasphemy ; their revellings, 
dishonesty, and uncleanness ; make up a conglomerate of 
sin absolutely frightful. The darkness upon their minds 
is not ordinary, but gross, darkness, — darkness that may 
be felt. The moral insensibility, in their case, is not that 
of mere indifference, or want of relish or perception, but 
that of death : the conscience is seared, and the heart is 
unfeeling as the adamant or the nether millstone. The 
spiritual defilement is so great, that we may only compare 
it with the pollution and disgusting loathsomeness of 
leprosy. The wicked one has not only dealings with men 
of this class, and power over them, but absolute posses- 
sion of them ; he rules in the hearts of these " children of 
disobedience," and leads them captive at his pleasure. 

In the contemplation of such examples of matured 
wickedness, there is every thing to sadden and discourage 
us. We pity them, and we desire their salvation; but 
the difficulty is extreme ; and we have scarcely strength 
to hope, or pray, or make an effort. In the spirit of the 
question proposed of old over the valley where lay the 
bones, very many and dry, we are ready to ask, Can these 
live ? can the light ever penetrate here ? can a clean thing 



CHRIST HEALS THE FISHERMAN'S MOTHER-IN-LAW. 53 

ever be brought out of this ? can this chief of sinners be 
saved ?j 

Now, how is our faith to be raised in such cases ? 
How is our faith to be sustained amidst the difficulty, 
discouragement, and opposition encountered while attempt- 
ing to save one of this class ? The answer is again, By 
showing that Christ is able to deal with a desperate case. 
His mercy was sufficient to cancel the debt of him who 
owed five hundred pence, as well as that of him who owed 
but fifty. The power of his grace was sufficient to tri- 
umph in the conversion of bigotted, blaspheming, and 
persecuting Saul of Tarsus, as well as in that of Lydia, 
who worshipped God. 

Here was not simply the cure of a "fever," but of 
"a great fever;" the successful treatment, not of a 
trifling disorder, but of one of the very worst description. 
This woman's case was a difficult one, and, humanly 
speaking, altogether hopeless ; but our glorious Eedeemer 
was equal to it ; and, advancing to the bed whereon the 
sufferer lay, he "touched her," he "took her by the 
hand," and "lifted her up." 

In working such miracles, there was not always this 
personal contact with Christ. He did not always touch 
the patient. He was not always even in the presence of 
the individuals. He occasionally healed at a distance ; 
sometimes with a word, a look, a touch. Similar varieties 
are observable in the methods of his grace. Some are 
allured by his grace ; while others are driven by alarm. 



54 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

The mind of one is gently opened; while, in another 
case, the conscience is violently aroused. Divine truth, 
the Holy Spirit, the dispensations of Providence, the 
ministry of the word, or personal affliction, are variously 
employed by Christ in saving the children of men. But, 
whether by instrumentalities, ordinary or otherwise, men 
are saved, it is a matter of small moment. Whether He 
shall speak the word only, or take the sinner by the hand, 
we are content. O, blessed Redeemer, only save ! heal 
the sin- sick souls of men ! take the poor captive from the 
grasp of the devil, who hurries to hell with his prey ! 
and, whether thou art pleased to do this by a look of 
pity, a word of power, or a touch of love, we are content. 
Save as thou wilt ; but save ! 

" He touched her hand, and the fever left her." The 
cure was manifestly miraculous; for no one will allege 
that there was any thing in a touch of the hand to heal of 
a " great fever," except as it was the touch of Him who 
has all power in heaven and in earth. 

The cure was instantaneous. St. Mark says, " Imme- 
diately the fever left her:" St. Luke says, "Immediately 
she arose, and ministered unto them." Her ministering 
was in token of her gratitude and love, and showed the 
completeness of this sudden cure. Omnipotence rebuked 
the disease, and all the ordinary effects thereof imme- 
diately disappeared. Strength was fully restored. We 
all know that, in the cure of a fever by ordinary means, 
this recovery of strength does not immediately follow. 



When the fever has subsided, when the last throb of the 
fever pulse has ceased, the patient is generally left in the 
extreme of weakness : so prostrate is the person in many 
instances, as to make it a question whether life remains. 
Days and weeks, ay, and even months, pass away, while 
the patient gradually recovers strength. But in this 
instance strength comes with health. The fever leaves 
her at the bidding of Christ, and vigour is immediately 
restored. " She arose " from her bed ; and, as if nothing 
had previously occurred, she enters upon ordinary 
domestic duties ; she " ministered to them." 

It has been already intimated that we take all these 
mighty works of Christ as intended to illustrate His 
power as a Saviour. These physical prodigies show what 
is his power for the accomplishment of moral and spi- 
ritual results ; and serve to warrant our faith in him, as 
not only almighty, but almighty to save. We gather 
from his whole series of miracles, that " he is able to save 
them to the uttermost that come unto Grod by him." 

In connexion with this it may be remarked, that 
almost all the miracles wrought by Christ upon the bodies 
of men were accompanied by corresponding blessings to 
the soid. At the very same time that sight was given to 
the blind man, the eves of his understanding were enlig-ht- 
ened by the spiritual revelation and knowledge of Christ. 
When the leper was cleansed from his loathsome and fatal 
disease, his moral powers were renewed in righteousness. 
As soon as the demon who had grievously tormented the 



56 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

body was cast out, we perceive that his power over the 
spirit was broken, and the man was seen sitting at the 
Saviour's feet, clothed, and in his right mind. With the 
raising of the dead body, the soul is quickened into 
newness of holy life. 

The fact thus adverted to will enable us to understand 
how it is that the manner in which applications were 
made to Christ for these miracles of healing, become so 
strikingly illustrative of the manner in which applications 
must be made to Him now for spiritual blessings. Both 
physical and moral benefits were secured at the same 
time; and the humility, earnestness, perseverance, and 
faith of the applicant then, must be imitated by the 
applicant now. A single example may suffice. We select 
that of the leper, as recorded in the first chapter of St. 
Mark's Gospel. " There came a leper to him, beseeching 
him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, 
If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus, 
moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched 
him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean." 
Observe the poor man's earnestness ; — he came " beseech- 
ing," not coldly and formally uttering his request, but 
with deep emotion and vehement desire. Mark his 
humility, — "kneeling down;" St. Luke says, he "fell on 
his face," while he urged his petition. Notice his 
faith, — "Thou canst make me clean." He applies to 
Christ under the influence of a clear and strong con- 
viction of His sufficiency of power. In all these par- 



CHRIST HEALS THE FISHERMAN'S MOTHER-IN-LAW. 57 

ticulars, his example is exhibited for our imitation. 
Come to Christ as this man did, and He will say, with 
respect to spiritual things, " Be it unto thee even as thou 
wilt." 

If a question be raised, as to whether those resources 
of divine power are available now for spiritual purposes, 
our answer is, He is Jesus Christ, the anointed Saviour, 
"the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." It is our 
joy to know that such pity, power, and love, as he had in 
the days of his flesh, he has to-day ; and that such 
mighty works as he accomplished while on earth, he is 
able and willing to accomplish now. 

This is perhaps admitted. But a farther question is 
raised as to the comparative disadvantage of our position 
with respect to Christ and his gracious power. "When he 
dwelt on earth, he went in and out before the people : 
with some of them he was on familiar terms. They had 
free access to his presence. They saw him in the syna- 
gogue, or on the road, or in the retirement of their own 
home. They beheld his countenance beaming with 
tenderness, benignity, and love. They heard his voice 
uttering words of wisdom and of grace, speaking as never 
man spake. The living Saviour was among them. They 
could not doubt his power ; for they saw it put forth, and 
signs and wonders followed. They could not doubt his 
love ; it beamed in his face ; it was attested by his prayers 
and tears, and by a thousand sorrowing and suffering 
ones, whom he had soothed and comforted. They had 



58 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

thus numerous living and palpable helps to their faith in 
him. But how veiy different with regard to us, and our 
position ! He dwells no more with men. He cannot 
now be seen, not even in the temples set apart for his 
service, and where his disciples meet to do him honour. 
His voice is heard no more. In their case there was 
every thing to assist, encourage, and command their faith ; 
in our case there is nothing. You tell us he is mighty ; 
and we dare not, do not, disbelieve. But if this were 
said to us in the house of Peter, as his mother-in-law was 
touched by Christ, and we saw her in a moment healed of 
her ' great fever ; ' if you told us this about the power of 
Christ as we stood by the grave of Lazarus, and while we 
saw Lazarus come forth from the tomb in which he had 
lain four days ; if you proclaimed the Saviour's power as 
we stood on the deck of the ship in the midst of the Sea 
of Galilee, and witnessed the hushing of the storm, the 
instantaneous subsiding of the waves, at the omnipotent 
words, ' Peace, be still ; ' — 0, if you told us of his power 
as we stood in his presence, and beheld these glorious 
triumphs, with how much greater force your words would 
come ! Our faith would be helped ; we could not fail to 
believe. And so also with regard to his pity and love. 
If we had seen him weep at the tomb of his friend, or 
as he gazed upon the city whose doom he was foretelling, 
— if we had seen him in the garden, or heard his prayer 
from the cross, — 0, then we should hardly require you to 
tell us of his love ; we should see it, and believe." 



CHRIST HEALS THE FISHERMAN'S MOTHER-IN-LAW. o9 

In answer to all this there are two things to be said : 
First. While we readily admit that the facts referred to 
were important and delightful encouragements and helps to 
faith, faith did not follow as a matter of course. There 
were many who saw and heard, yet believed not ; and the 
Saviour himself marvelled at their unbelief. In some 
places both the number and brilliancy of his miracles 
were lessened by the people's unbelief. " He coidd not 
do many mighty works there because of their unbelief." 
He could only "lay his hand upon a few sick folk, and 
heal them." We are thus impressively taught and 
admonished, that even if our statements of the Saviour's 
power were made to you in the circumstances named, and 
which you consider so advantageous, you nevertheless 
might not believe. Your hearts might be hardened still, 
and your sin remain. 

In the next place, we have to remind you that you are 
not without aids and encouragements to your faith. 
There are around you many living witnesses for Christ, — 
persons who have felt his power and tasted of his love. 
Ask them to tell you what Christ has done for them. 
Mark well what they say : ce Once I was wretched, under 
a sense of my sin, and of the wrath of God. I found 
trouble and sorrow more than I can tell. I felt myself 
ready to sink into the pit ; but I heard of Christ, and 
trusted in him, and found peace. Distress and fear all 
passed away ; my spirit was calmed, and I became hap- 
pier than I can describe." Another says, " 0, what a 



60 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

sinful life mine was, — what a wicked heart ! Intempe- 
rance, Sabbath-breaking, lying, profanity, uncleanness, — 
all were familiar to me ; but I was turned to Christ : he 
set me free, renewed my nature, made me holy ; all ' old 
things are passed away, and all things are become new.' " 
Listen to these persons ; converse with them. What 
Christ has done for them is as great as what he did for 
others in the days of his flesh; the blessings he has 
bestowed are as valuable, and the change which he has 
wrought as mighty and marvellous. These works of his 
grace are as glorious, — yea, rather (may I not say ?) more 
glorious achievements of his power, than the miracles of 
healing to which we have referred. And there are thou- 
sands around you upon whom this mighty transformation 
has been effected, and who testify, for your encourage- 
ment, that Christ receiveth sinners still. 

There is one consideration more. Although the 
Saviour has gone up to heaven, yet is there access to his 
presence now, as truly as when he dwelt on earth. We 
cannot meet him in Peter's house, but, what is better, we 
can meet him in Ms own. The manner of this meeting is, 
indeed, more spiritual, but the thing is not the less real. 
<c Where two or three are gathered together in my name, 
there am I in the midst of them." (Matt, xviii. 20.) 
These words are not to be taken merely as a promise, but 
as a plain and decisive declaration of fact : it is not, 
" There will I be," but, "There am I in the midst of them." 
The presence of Christ in the assembly of his disciples, is 



CHRIST HEALS THE FISHERMAN'S MOTHER-IN-LAW. 61 

in no way contingent, except upon their being gathered 
together in his name. "Where this condition obtains, 
there is Christ, in his undiminished pity ; in his ever- 
lasting power ; in his condescending and almighty love. 
He cannot change. He is the same " yesterday, to-day, 
and for ever." He speaks to you in his house, listen : 
" What will ye that I should do for you ?" " Come unto 
me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give 
you rest." See, he takes the book to read; the passage 
selected is this : " The Spirit of the Lord God is upon 
me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to 
the poor ; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to 
preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight 
to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to 
preach the acceptable year of the Lord." (Luke iv. 18, 
19.) T\ ell may you wonder at these gracious words pro- 
ceeding from the Saviour's lips, and scarce presume to 
think them true. But true they are, and true for you. 
Apply them to yourselves : put in your claim for these 
glorious benefits. You need not hesitate, you need not 
fear. We can give you every possible assurance of his 
tender love. We can supply the most abundant testi- 
mony, that £C he is able to save them to the uttermost that 
come unto God by him/ 3 

Join with us in a song of praise ; and may you realize 
the truth, and feel the blessedness, of that of which you 
sing: ! 



62 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

" Jesu, thy far-extended fame 

My drooping soul exults to hear ; 
Thy name, thy all-restoring name, 
Is music in a sinner's ear. 

" Sinners of old thou didst receive, 
With comfortable words and kind ; 
Their sorrows cheer, their wants relieve, 
Heal the diseased, and cure the blind. 

" And art thou not the Saviour still, 
In every place and age the same ? 
Hast thou forgot thy gracious skill, 
Or lost the virtue of thy name ? 

" Faith in thy changeless name I have ; 
The good, the kind Physician, thou 
Art able now our souls to save, 
Art willing to restore them now. 

" Though eighteen hundred years are past 
Since thou didst in the iiesh appear, 
Thy tender mercies ever last, 

And still thy healing power is here 1 " 



SCENE III. 

WALKING ON THE SEA TOWARD CHRIST. 

" And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were 
troubled, saying, It is a spirit ; and they cried ont for fear. But 
straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer ; 
it is I ; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, 
if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, 
Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he 
walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the 
wind boisterous, he was afraid ; and beginning to sink, he cried, 
saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth 
his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, thou of little 
faith, wherefore didst thou doubt ? And when they were come 
into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the 
ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the 
Son of God."— Matt, xiv. 26-33. 

Many books have been written, and many sermons 
have been preached, about faith; and, considering the 
vast amount of talent and piety which have been conse- 
crated to the exhibition of this Christian grace, we might 
be ready to conclude that by this time the subject was 
entirely exhausted ; and any further attempt at illustra- 
tion may be deemed altogether superfluous. Plausible as 
such a conclusion may be considered, we nevertheless 
venture to submit, that there are yet many persons who 



64 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

have the first principles of faith to learn ; many by whom 
it is only partially understood ; and that comparatively 
few exhibit the grace in that clearness, consistency, and 
power which so strikingly appear in New-Testament 
examples. On the whole, we are disposed to think that 
there is no subject upon which we more manifestly require 
line upon line, and precept upon precept, than upon that 
of Christian faith. 

Eaith is the instrument whereby we appropriate the 
blessings of the Gospel of Christ, and the channel through 
which divine grace flows into the soul, for its sanctifica- 
tion, refreshment, and joy. The character of our faith 
determines the character of our experience and practice 
as Christians. The sky above us is clear ; the prospect 
before us is bright ; the flow of peace within us is con- 
stant ; our spiritual experience is rich ; our religious 
advancement is steady; and our Christian excellence 
generally is lofty and scriptural, in proportion to the 
simplicity and clearness, the uniformity and vigour, of our 
faith. The grace of faith has therefore the most direct 
and important bearing upon our entire religious state; 
and in this fact we have the strongest possible induce- 
ment devoutly and carefully to study the nature of the 
principle, and to investigate the most frequent causes of 
its interruption and failure. 

It may be confidently affirmed that we cannot prosecute 
this study of Christian faith with so much advantage or 
pleasure, as in the diligent and prayerful examination of 



WALKING ON THE SEA TOWARD CHRIST. 65 

New-Test anient examples of the grace. These examples 
do not, indeed, contain any logical definition, or systematic 
analysis, of faith; but they strikingly and beautifully 
illustrate its nature ; and while presenting it in varied, 
vigorous, and triumphant operation, they supply the richest 
encouragement to its exercise. 

It is not, indeed, pretended that any one of these 
examples presents a complete view of faith, any more than 
that the whole of any given doctrine is contained in any 
one verse of holy Scripture. The Bible revelation proceeds 
upon the principle of giving us " here a little, and there a 
little," so as to render it necessary that we shoidd dili- 
gently " search the Scriptures," putting one passage with 
another, and " comparing things spiritual," until we come 
to find ourselves in possession of a " goodly heritage." 
Perhaps it would not be possible to construct a complete 
definition of faith from any one example of it with which 
we are furnished. But it will be found that each example 
throws light upon some particular element of faith; 
presents it under a new aspect^ or in different combina- 
tions : and the diligent student of the whole will be 
rewarded with a clear and comprehensive view of the 
origin, properties, motives, hinderances, and encourage- 
ments of faith, such as it is almost impossible for him to 
secure in any other way. 

It may be observed generally of the example of faith 
now to be brought under consideration, that it presents a 
singularly interesting illustration of the nature of the 

f 2 



66 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

principle, strongly marks one of the most common causes 
of its failure, and affectingly exposes the unreasonableness 
of unbelief. 

A brief reference to previous occurrences is essential to 
a correct understanding of those with which we have now 
to do. Our account commences with evening on the 
shores of Galilee. Thousands of people, men, women, 
and children, are gathered together. Every thing is indi- 
cative of deep feeling among the midtitude, and of strong 
excitement. An astonishing miracle has just been 
wrought by Christ; and so profound has been the 
impression produced upon the mind of this vast assembly, 
that they no longer entertain a doubt of his Messiahship, 
but say, " This is of a truth that Prophet that should 
come into the world." Having arrived at this conviction, 
they determine to give practical effect to it, by proclaim- 
ing him at once a King. The notion commonly enter- 
tained among the Jewish people was, that Messiah would 
assume the pomp and power of a temporal Prince. 
Under this mistaken, but fondly cherished, notion, the 
multitude were prepared to act. They soon, however, saw 
that the meek and lowly One desired no kingly honours, 
and shrank from their proposal. But they were not 
content to have it so. They endeavour to persuade him : 
they try to overcome his reluctance: and so resolutely 
have they set their minds on this, that " Jesus perceived 
they would come and take him by force, to make him a 
King." (John vi. 16.) 



WALKING ON THE SEA TOWARD CHKIST. 67 

In consequence of this, lie at once proceeded to break 
up the assembly, first constraining his disciples to get 
into a ship, and proceed to the other side of the lake, 
where he proposed to join them soon; and then, dismiss- 
ing the multitude, he himself sought retirement for prayer. 
What a lesson have we here, when tempted with the 
world's honour, power, and wealth ! 

The disciples appear to have been somewhat reluctant 
to leave their Master alone on the shore, and they only 
did so in obedience to his peremptory command. Xor is 
it difficult to account for this reluctance. Probably they 
sympathized with the feeling and purpose of the mul- 
titude, and were unwilling to forego the favourable oppor- 
tunity for putting Christ in the position, and giving him 
the honours, of a temporal Prince. In addition to this, 
there is reason to believe, that not only was the day 
drawing to a close, but the weather was already unfa- 
vourable, and there was the certain prospect of a stormy 
and toilsome night at sea. Christ, however, " con- 
strained " them to get into a ship, and go to the other 
side over against Bethsaida ; or, as St. John has it, 
" toward Capernaum." Bethsaida and Capernaum appear 
to have been in the immediate neighbourhood of each 
other, " Over against Bethsaida,' 5 probably indicated 
the precise spot for which they were to make ; but in that 
case it would be quite in accordance with ordinary forms 
of expression, in describing the course of the ship, to say, 
it was " toward Capernaum," as this was the larger and 



6S SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

more important place of the two, and therefore better 
known to those who would read the account. 

The disciples put to sea at the command of Christ. 
And we may suppose that they did so under circum- 
stances similar to those so graphically described by a 
recent traveller in this region. He says, " After sunset 
I strolled down to the lake, and, seating myself upon a 
mass of broken wall, enjoyed the freshness of the evening. 
The mountains were like a dark purple frame around the 
expanse of the water, which reflected the hues of the 
twilight sky. There w T as a solemnity in the scene, which 
was wanting under the garish light of noon. All day 
there had not been a breath of air, the sultry heat had 
been that of a furnace ; but now, a cool breeze came off 
the lofty table-land, and, rushing down the ravines that 
descend to the lake, began to ruffle its placid bosom, and 
toss up its surface into mimic waves, that broke with a 
gentle music upon the fallen fragments at my feet. As 
it grew darker, the breeze increased to a gale, the lake 
became a sheet of foam, and the white-headed breakers 
dashed proudly on the rugged beach ; its gentle murmur 
was now changed into the wild and mournful sound of 
the whistling wind and the agitated waters. Afar off was 
dimly seen the little barque struggling with the waves, 
and then lost sight of amidst the misty rack. It was long 
before I could tear myself from the spot. To have thus 
seen so striking an exemplification of the Scripture narra- 
tive, was as interesting as it was unexpected. It was 



WALKING ON THE SEA TOWARD CHRIST. 69 

even thus that the storm came down upon the lake, which 
threatened to engulf the terrified apostles, and called forth 
so sublime a manifestation of the Divine Power." 

On a stormy night like this the disciples are proceed- 
ing "over the sea toward Capernaum. 55 "The wind is 
contrary, 55 and they are "tossed with the waves: 55 they 
are " toiling in rowing : 55 night shrouds all in gloom : " It 
is dark, and Jesus is not come. 55 

It is not precisely known where either Bethsaida or 
Capernaum was situated : it is impossible to determine the 
exact distance which the disciples had to traverse ; but 
probably it was only short. Short, however, though the 
distance was, they could not make it. The wind has 
freshened to a gale, and blows right ahead. The sails are 
struck, and they toil at their oars. Every effort is made, 
every muscle is strained, but in vain. By tempest and 
billows they are driven from their course, and, after hours 
of hard rowing, instead of being over against Bethsaida, 
they find themselves " in the midst of the sea. 55 "What an 
anxious and fatiguing night they had passed, while their 
loved Master remained alone on the shore ! They probably 
expected, when they left him, that it was only for a brief 
period, — he would shortly meet them again at Capernaum : 
but now the night was nearly spent, and Jesus was not 
come. If he had been with them, to cheer them in their 
toils, to relieve them from anxious fears by assurances 
of safety, how different would it have been ! Did not 
Christ foresee this storm ? "Why did he expose them to 



70 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEK. 

it ? O that they could appeal to him, and secure his 
help ! But he is far away ; alone on the shore, while 
they are " in the midst of the sea," Are they disposed 
to think that he has forgotten them ; that he is 
unmindful of their interest, and unconscious of their toils 
and perils ? If so, they greatly wrong him. His thoughts 
and sympathies have gone out after them, and, though it 
is now dark, he sees them. They know it not, but his 
eye is upon them. The darkness hideth not from him. 
" He saw them," says St. Mark, " toiling and rowing." 
How often are we tempted to think, in the night of our 
trouble, that God hath forsaken us, and forgotten to be 
gracious ! But we are mistaken. His eye is over the 
righteous, and his ear is ever open to their cry. 

" Give to the winds thy fears ; 
Hope, and be undismay'd : 
God hears thy sighs, and counts thy tears ; 
God shall lift up thy head. 

" Through waves, and clouds, and storms, 

He gently clears thy way : 
"Wait thou his time ; so shall this night 
Soon end in joyous day." 

" About the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto 
them, walking on the sea." The night was divided into 
four watches : — from six to nine, from nine to twelve, from 
twelve to three, and from three to six. It was, therefore, 
between the hours of three and six in the morning, when 
Jesus was seen walking on the sea toward his disciples. 

It may be worth while to observe that to walk on the 



WALKING ON THE SEA TOWAKD CHEIST. 71 

sea was thought so impracticable, that the picture of two 
feet walking on tlie sea was an Egyptian hieroglyphic for 
an impossible thing. But all things are possible to Him 
with whom we have to do. Jesus, our Saviour King, is 
Lord of all. All forms of being, all elements and laws, 
are subject to his power. And that faith which his Spirit 
imparts, by uniting us to him, will enable us to prove 
the truth of what he has said, " All things are possible to 
him that believeth." 

" When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they 
were troubled, saying, It is a spirit ; and they cried out 
for fear." It was impossible for them to conceive that 
any thing of mortal mould could perform this feat ; the 
darkness prevented them from seeing who he was who 
approached them in this marvellous manner ; and they 
were filled with a vague terror, as they felt themselves in 
the neighbourhood of a supernatural being. 

On this passage, the Eev. Richard Watson judiciously 
remarks : " They were greatly affrighted on seeing a 
human form walking on the sea; for still the light was 
too obscure to show them that it was Christ himself; and 
they ' cried out for fear.' That the appearance was a 
spirit, ' pliant asm a, 9 a ghost, they could only conclude; 
for they had left Christ on the land ; and what should be 
able to walk on the sea but a disembodied spirit, no 
longer subject to the laws of matter ? Their fright was 
natural ; for surely there is no need, with some, to sup- 
pose the imaginations of the disciples haunted with such 



72 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

horrible notions of ghosts as may be found in the works 
of modern Kabbins, to account for it. A ship's company 
of persons the most sceptical on the subject of apparitions, 
would, doubtless, in similar circumstances, have betrayed 
similar emotions, and ' cried out for fear' as loudly. We 
have here also a proof that the belief in the existence of 
men after death, and a spiritual world, was the belief of 
the body of the Jews. The scepticism of the Sadducees 
on this subject appears to have been chiefly confined to 
the rich and learned." 

The power of Christ is over mind as well as matter. 
He quiets the fears of his disciples as readily as he does 
the roaring of the tempest. The mental emotions subside 
at his bidding as promptly as do the waves of the sea, 
when he says, "Be still!" "Straightway Jesus spake 
unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not 
afraid :" be not afraid, either of me, who am your friend; 
or of the violent tempest, which cannot hurt you while 
you are under my protection. 

In going over the history of St. Peter, we meet at 
almost every turn the evidences of his ardent tempera- 
ment and impulsive character. His feelings run faster 
than his thoughts : he follows his emotions rather than 
his judgment : he speaks and acts before he has been able 
to reason and reflect. No wonder, therefore, that so 
many of his sayings and doings are plainly open to excep- 
tion. We would not -under-rate his many good qualities, 
or depreciate his general character, as we think not a few 



WALKING ON THE SEA TOWARD CHRIST. (6 

have done. A calm and candid examination of his con- 
duct in the particular instance now before us, lias led to 
a somewhat different conclusion from that at which others 
have arrived ; and we feel ourselves prohibited rroin using 
such terms of censure as have been most unsparingly 
employed by many who have taken in hand to expound 
this history. 

Peter no sooner learns that it is Christ who occupies 
this singular position, than he desires permission to come 
and meet him on the sea: '"'Lord, if it be thou," — or, 
" since it is thou,'' — "bid me come unto thee on the water." 
In commenting upon this request of Peter, and upon 
the probable motive or motives in which it originated, 
a series of disparaging and, as we think, uncalled-for 
observations have been made. This request, we are told, 
was "rash," "self-confident/ 3 '"'presumptuous:" it is 
endeavoured to be shown that he was "forward," "preci- 
pitate," and " self-sufficient." Now it is not clear to us 
that any one of these terms is countenanced by the record. 
Still less does the record countenance the notion, that he 
over-estimated the measure of his faith, and judged it to 
be much stronger than in fact it proved. That Peter was 
ardent and impulsive, is readily admitted ; but that there 
was any thing wrong in the singular request he now pre- 
ferred, is not once hinted in the most distant manner. It 
was immediately granted ; and that which he desired was 
perfectly accomplished. That he over-estimated Ms faith, 
is plainly contradicted by the narrative itself. He saw a 



74 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEK. 

tiling achieved by his Master, which was wholly impossi- 
ble by ordinary means, which was only within the com- 
pass of a power divine : he felt that he had faith in that 
power; he judged his faith sufficient to enable him to 
walk on the sea; and, having obtained permission to 
make the trial, he found it was, as he had thought, suffi- 
cient. "He w r alked on the water." He did not think 
his faith would enable him to do more than this, and this 
he did. "He walked on the water;" how long, or how 
great a distance, we are not told, and it is perfectly imma- 
terial. It is enough to know, that "he walked on the 
water ;" and the fact is in evidence that his faith was as 
strong as he supposed it to be. 

Some have been simple enough to say, that as Peter 
was an adept in the art of swimming, he probably pre- 
sumed on this accomplishment, when he made his request 
to Christ. But surely he did not ask for leave to swim 
to Christ. Surely the confidence which he expresses was 
not in the fact that he could swim, but in the power of 
Christ. If it had been a question of swimming, Peter 
would have done now what he did on another occasion. 
He and his fellow-disciples had been at sea all night ; at 
the break of day Christ stood on the shore, and spoke to 
them ; and as soon as Peter knew that it was the Lord, 
he " girt his fisher's coat unto him, and did cast himself 
into the sea." He asked no leave ; he waited for no com- 
mand; but cast himself into the sea, and swam to the 
shore. So he would have done on this occasion, but that 



WALKING ON THE SEA TOWAKD CHKIST. 75 

lie desired in faith to imitate his Lord, and walk on the 
stormy sea. 

Leaving this, however, for the present, we notice the 
procedure of Peter, in this instance, as supplying a strik- 
ing and beautiful illustration of the nature of faith, both 
in principle and in action. In the request for divine 
authority on which to proceed, he illustrates the principle 
of faith ; and, coining down out of the ship, he shows us 
that faith in action. 

"Lord, bid me come unto thee on the water:" the 
permission thus sought was essential as the basis and 
warrant of Peter's faith, in the attempt which he was 
about to make to walk on the water. Such a divine 
basis and warrant are essential in every instance to the 
very existence of faith. There may be credulity, enthu- 
siasm, presumption, apart from the revealed will of God ; 
but there cannot be faith. The revelation of the divine 
will may assume a variety of forms. It may assume the 
form of a simple statement of truth, a record of historical 
fact, an inculcation of duty, an exhibition of privilege, or a 
promise of good. But whatever may be the form, the thing 
itself is essential. It is that upon which faith rests, and by 
which it is sustained. It answers to faith as the founda- 
tion does to the building : remove this, and the whole 
superstructure falls at once. 

This revealed will of God is the warrant for our pro- 
cedure in any given course of action. Tor example : we 
aim at the attainment of a certain spiritual good ; or we 



76 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

address ourselves to do some particular thing. Now it 
that good is not somehow or other evidently included in 
the revelation of the divine will, or the doing of that par- 
ticular thing is not made possible and a duty, our aim at 
the good is enthusiasm, and our attempt at the act is 
presumption. 

From the position thus assumed, it follows that the 
revelation of the divine will, while it constitutes the 
necessary basis and , warrant of our faith, at the same 
time determines the boundary within which faith may 
range. We are speaking now of the things which belong 
to our peace and salvation ; and, with respect to these, 
we may, and we ought to, believe all that God has 
declared : we may confidently look for all that he has 
promised, and successfully undertake all that he has 
commanded, but nothing more. Within this circle is 
faith ; beyond it faith is impossible. 

Look at the practical bearing of this upon questions of 
Christian duty and privilege. It is asked, " Why may I 
not believe for the enjoyment of that peculiar form and 
measure of intercourse with God, which Moses had upon 
Mount Horeb ; or which St. Paul had, when caught up 
into the third heaven ? Why may I not attempt to heal 
the sick, give eye- sight to the blind, or raise the dead?" 
The answer is, that what we may enjoy, and what we may 
do, is fixed by the book of God. That exhibits all attainable 
blessing, and is the rule both of faith and practice. In 
no part of this divine rule is the intercourse above 



"WALKING ON THE SEA TOWARD CHRIST. 77 

referred to, or the working of miracles, represented as my 
privilege or duty : I cannot therefore believe for the 
attainment of the one, or the performance of the other. 

It may perhaps be proper to observe, that the 
remarks now made are not to be understood as meaning 
that we are to have a specific direction in reference to 
every individual act and movement of life. That is unne- 
cessary; that is impossible. The divine law for the 
government of our conduct is most explicit. And, in 
addition, God has graciously given us general instruc- 
tions, and supplied us with general principles, which it is 
the business of Christian wisdom to apply to the particu- 
lar circumstances of om* case. If at any time those cir- 
cumstances shall assume an extraordinary character of 
duty, difficulty, danger, or trial, we may believingly look 
for special direction and grace from Him who has pro- 
mised to withhold no good thing from them that walk 
uprightly ; who has engaged to guide us by his own 
counsel, to make his strength perfect in our weakness, 
and, with every temptation, open a way for our escape. 

Only, it is here to be carefully observed, that the extra- 
ordinary circumstances named are supposed to arise in 
the providence of God, and not from any negligence, 
rashness, or sin, on our part. If we involve ourselves in 
an evil or difficult case, by the neglect of duty, or the 
commission of sin, we have no ground of confidence 
before God. "We may then expect to be left to our own 
resources ; and, having painfully discovered their insuf- 



78 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

ficiency, our very distress and danger shall become the 
means of making us sensible of our error and sin, and of 
leading us to a penitent appeal to Divine Mercy. Such 
an appeal may meet with a favourable response. God 
may come over the mountains of our transgression, and 
not only of his infinite mercy pardon our sin, but help 
and deliver us according to his word. 

In applying these general observations to the case in 
hand, we have to remark, that, up to the time when 
Peter said, "Bid me come unto thee on the water," it 
was neither his privilege nor his duty to do so : he might 
not, therefore, take a single step in that direction, until 
he had received divine permission ; until Christ had made 
known his will, and thus laid a basis for Peter's faith, 
and supplied a warrant for its exercise. For him to have 
left the ship without this authority, would have been rash 
and presumptuous ; and he would have been rebuked for 
something else than the littleness of his faith. 

It has already been intimated, that we are not entitled 
to expect divine aid in the doing of that which is not 
our duty, or in the suffering of that which we have 
brought upon ourselves by our folly or sin. In the 
example before us, Peter desired to place himself in an 
extraordinary position ; he sought to involve himself in 
the most imminent jeopardy ; he wished, so to speak, to 
make an extraordinary experiment, the success of which 
depended entirely upon the forth-putting of Christ's 
divine and almighty power. Now, the question arises, 



WALKING OX THE SEA TOWARD CHRIST. 79 

Had Peter any right to do so? "Was lie at liberty to 
peril his life, when there was no call of duty ? Would ho 
be justified in sacrificing his life, when there was no end 
to be answered '? Was it within his province to lay the 
power of Christ under contribution, to succeed an expe- 
riment which he had no instructions to attempt? The 
answer to all this is, " Xo." It was no part of Peter's 
duty to come down out of the ship on to the water : it 
was not his privilege to walk on the sea. " Cast thyself 
down," said the devil to Christ, as he stood on the pinna- 
cle of the temple: "for it is written, He shall give his 
angels charge concerning thee : and in their hands they 
shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot 
against a stone." But the answer was, " It is written 
again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." Of 
such tempting of the Lord would Peter have been guilty, 
if, of his own mind, he had taken this step. And we 
think that he clearly understood this, and rightly judged 
it to be an indispensable preliminary to action, that Christ 
should give him leave. " Lord, bid me come unto thee 
on the water." " Thy command will make it my duty to 
do this unheard-of thing : thy command will be the 
foundation for my faith : thy command will confer upon 
me the honour of doing that which man never did before." 
He was fully assured, that if only Christ bade him come, 
he would enable him to do so ; if Christ authorized him 
to assume this extraordinary position, he would, undoubt- 
edly, sustain him in it. 

G 



80 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

Jesus immediately complied with Peter's request. 
"He said, Come;" and Peter forthwith acted on the 
authority thus given him. So far we have contemplated 
Peter's faith only in what may be called its elementary 
principle ; namely, belief of the truth. He believed the 
truth concerning Christ's almighty power; that, in the 
permission just granted, there was an implied undertaking 
on the part of Christ to uphold him in safety, and a 
willingness to crown his attempt with perfect success. 
But it is important to observe, that belief of the truth is 
not the whole of faith. Faith is not complete, till belief 
of the truth is carried into an act of trust. In coming 
" down out of the ship," Peter trusted in the truth which 
he previously believed. He renounced a place of safety in 
the ship, and ventured his life on the power of Christ. 
Now faith is complete. The elementary principle and the 
action combine in simple, cheerful, and unhesitating trust. 

In a book containing familiar illustrations of Christian 
doctrine, the following one is given of faith: "Faith 
means confidence ; not merely cold, intellectual convic- 
tion, but confidence, — a feeling of the heart. To show 
the distinction clearly, imagine a man, unaccustomed to 
such an elevation, to be taken to the summit of some 
lofty spire, and asked to step out from an opening there, 
upon a narrow board, suspended by ropes over the dizzy 
height. How will he shrink back instinctively from it ! 
Explain to him. the strength of the ropes, show him their 
size, and convince him, by the most irresistible evidence, 



WALKING ON THE SEA TOWARD CHRIST. 81 

that they have abundant strength to support many times 
his weight : can you make him willing to trust himself to 
them ? No. But the builder, whose confidence in the 
suspended scaffolding has been established by experience, 
stands upon it without fear, and looks down to the stony 
pavement, a hundred feet below, with an unmoved and 
steady eye. Now, you must have such faith in Christ's 
sufferings and death, as not merely to admit their efficacy, 
but to trust yourself to it. 

" A father was once amusing a number of children with 
an electric machine ; and, after one or two had touched 
the knob, and received the shock, they drew back from 
the apparatus, and looked upon it with evident dread. 
The father held out to them the jar uncharged, and con- 
sequently harmless, and said, ' If you touch it now, you 
will feel nothing ; who will try ? ' The children drew 
back, with their hands behind them. ' You do not believe 
me,' said he. c Yes, Sir,' said they with one voice ; and 
several hands were held out to prove their faith; but 
they were quickly withdrawn before reaching the dan- 
gerous knob. One alone, a timid little girl, had that kind 
of confidence in her father, which led her really to trust 
to him. The rest believed his word, but had not heartfelt 
faith in it. Even the little believer's faith was not 
unwavering. You could see on her face, when the little 
knuckle approached the harmless brass ball, a slight 
expression of anxiety, showing that she had some doubts 
and fears after all ; and there was an evident feeling of 

g 2 



82 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

relief when she touched the knob, and found that her 
father's word was true, and that there was really nothing 
there. 

"This last is Christian faith exactly. It not only 
believes what the Saviour says, but it acts in reliance 
upon it. It trusts to Christ, and throws itself upon him, 
and tries to hush its fears, and to feel fully the confidence 
which it knows is deserved." 

In the course of these observations, the word "ven- 
ture" has been used; but it is not to be understood as 
implying any thing like risk or hazard. There can be no 
risk or hazard in trusting to Christ. There can be no 
failure ; there is no danger ; it is impossible to sink while 
trusting in Christ. Peter was as safe in the sea as in the 
ship ; the waves were as firm as the deck. At the same 
time, we may very well suppose that there would be, in 
the mind of Peter, as he left the ship, a feeling such as 
we are accustomed to express by the word risk or venture. 
And so it is frequently in the case of those who are exer- 
cising faith in Christ for salvation. There is no uncer- 
tainty or risk ; there can be none. The word of Christ is 
infallible, the power of Christ is absolute, the love of 
Christ is infinite and eternal. " Heaven and earth may 
pass away," but not one jot or tittle of the word of 
Christ can fail. Still, however, with every assurance of 
the fact of Christ's faithfulness, and love, and power, 
there is often a feeling of "venturing" experienced by the 
penitent seeker of salvation. It is with a sort of despera- 



WALKING ON THE SEA TOWARD CHRIST. S3 

tion that the stricken and perishing sinner casts himself 
npon Christ. 

Nor is it difficult to account for this. Under the influ- 
ence of the Spirit of God, conviction, distress, and desire 
are brought to a crisis. This crisis may, indeed, be more 
or less distinctly marked in the experience of different 
individuals; and the feeling of which we are speaking 
will vary in degree. But we are describing a common 
case when we say, a vivid, and, it may be, appalling, 
representation of sin is ever before the eye of his mind. 
The sorrows of death and the pains of hell get hold upon 
him. All sense of goodness leaves him, all efforts towards 
relief fail him, all struggles with himself and the power of 
his sins prove unsuccessful. Eeasoning, effort, conflict 
are all in vain. "All hope" in himself "that he should 
be saved" is " taken away." The accusations of a guilty 
conscience cannot be disposed of, fears cannot be shaken 
off, distressing feeling cannot be stifled. The crisis has 
arrived : " None but Christ can save me. I will make one 
last endeavour to reach him. Lord, help me ! If I perish, 
it will be at his feet ; if I die, it will be crying for mercy. 

" c Save, Jesus ; or I yield, I sink ! 
O save me, or I die ! ' " 

Hope, life, salvation, all are now cast on Christ ; and all 
is safe. Pardon is obtained, peace fills the soul, and 
grace divine is felt. 

Peter came "down out of the ship" on to the water: 



84 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

he trusted his life to the Eedeemer's power and grace, 
and, trusting, triumphed. " He walked on the water:" 
his desire is fulfilled, his experiment is crowned with 
complete success. Faith triumphs over fear, over the 
laws of gravitation, and over physical impossibility. He 
walks on the sea, the stormy sea ; and it yields not to his 
pressure, but is firm as the solid ground beneath his feet. 
No man ever walked on the sea before ; no man has done 
so since. This triumph of Peter's faith is unique; it 
stands alone in the annals of time. What must have 
been his emotions ! What must his fellow-disciples, 
whom he left in the ship, have thought ! Probably they 
deemed him rash in making his strange request, fool- 
hardy in getting down out of the ship, and presumptuous 
in thus adventuring on the deep. They watch the issue 
with mingled emotions of curiosity and apprehension; 
but they have not to watch long. Inexpressible and 
delighted surprise soon takes the place of all other feel- 
ings. See ! Peter's feet are on the deep, and sink not ; 
his step is firm; he advances towards Christ. Talk of 
rashness, of presumption ! It was faith — clear, lofty, and 
vigorous faith — in the limitless power of the Redeemer. 
To say that Peter's faith was strong, is to say little ; it 
was grand, glorious, and divine. 

We could linger here, and gaze awhile ; but the scene 
is suddenly changed. Every thing is in a moment 
reversed. Pear overmasters faith, and failure takes the 
place of triumph. The man who was walking on the sea 



WALKING ON THE SEA TOWARD CHRIST. 85 

is beginning to sink. His exultation is ended, and the 
cry, "Lord, save me," is heard. "But when he saw the 
wind boisterous, he was afraid ; and beginning to sink, 
he cried, saying, Lord, save ine." These words not only 
state the fact, that Peter's faith failed him, but they 
account for the failure in a way at once instructive and 
admonitory to ourselves. " When he saw the wind bois- 
terous;" — but what then? The wind had been boister- 
ous all the night : no change had taken place : matters 
remained as the}' had been seen, and felt, and known to 
Peter during many previous hours. The blast of the 
hurricane sweeps on as before ; the waves run high, and 
dash onward, as they have done ; the spray and the foam 
whiten on the billows, and the frail bark is rocked in the 
storm, or labours in the trough of the sea, as before. 
The howl of the tempest is not louder, the sea is not 
rougher, the danger is not greater, than when he left the 
ship. Why, then, do these things now so differently 
affect him ? The answer is, He sees them now through 
a different medium, under another aspect. Before he left 
the ship, he saw the effects of the boisterous wind by the 
eye of faith; he sees them now by the eye of sense. 
While he beheld them by faith, he was enabled to laugh at 
impossibilities ; but when he sees them only by the eye, 
he becomes weak as other men. 

Thoroughly to understand this, it will be desirable to 
consider all the cii'cumstances of the narrative as com- 
prised within three periods : the first period was before 



86 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

the appearance of Christ ; the second, while Peter was 
walking on the sea ; and the third commences with his 
beginning to sink. Three distinct states of mind obtain 
during these several periods. Eeason has sway in the 
first ; faith, in the second ; and fear, in the third. In the 
first, you regard Peter as one of a crew of ordinary fisher- 
men, in their boat at sea, pursuing the common duties of 
their calling. While so engaged, they are overtaken by a 
storm. In this storm, they do what men ordinarily 
would do in such a case : they take in the sails ; trim the 
boat ; and, bending on their oars, endeavour to reach the 
nearest safe mooring. Eeason suggests the common pre- 
cautions to be taken, and guides them in the employment 
of such means as the case required, to insure their safety, 
and enable them to make the port. But now Christ 
appears. Peter enters into conversation with him ; and 
having received authority to assume a new and extraordi- 
nary position, in which he could only be sustained by the 
divine power of Christ, faith is called into exercise. A 
new course is opened ; a new principle of action is sup- 
plied. His personal safety is no longer dependent on the 
means which reason would employ, but upon the divine 
power of which faith takes hold. Under the operation of 
this new principle, every thing around is seen through a 
different medium, assumes another character, and a 
totally different class of feelings are in the ascendant. 
The whole attention is now fixed on Christ : nothing is 
seen, nothing is heard, and nothing is wished for, but 



WALKING ON THE SEA TOWARD CHKIST. 87 

Christ. While faith is thus vigorously exercised, Peter is 
fully equal to his singular position : difficulty and danger 
are as if they were not. If the threatening waves are 
seen at all, they are seen as under the resistless control of 
Christ : if the boisterous wind is heard at all, it is heard 
in the presence of Him who holdeth the winds in his fist. 
In this state of mind nothing is feared, and unheard-of 
things are accomplished. This second period is closed by 
Peter looking away from Christ, to the novelty of his 
position, the visible effects of the storm, and the danger 
which momentarily threatens to swallow him up. Thus 
looking away from Christ, he immediately returns to the 
state of mind contemplated in the first of these three 
periods ; namely, that in which simple and unaided reason 
prevails. The only difference is, that now the danger is 
greater ; so much greater, that reason says, Peter must be 
drowned. He occupies a position for whose demands reason 
has no resources whatsoever. He cannot stand a single 
moment ; he must sink ; he sees it ; he knows it ; he feels 
it : and, " beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save 
me." No longer walking by faith, Peter sees the things 
around him just as other men would see them, and is 
affected by them in the same manner. The boisterous 
wind is to him now precisely what it is to others, what it 
was to himself during the whole of the night, down to the 
time of Christ's appearing. The peril of his position is 
apprehended by him just as it would be by any other 
man. He fears the wind, and he fears the waves, because 



88 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

lie has no longer hold of that Almighty power which 
made him independent of, and triumphant over, both. 
Left to himself, Peter is now a lost man ; he is " begin- 
ning to sink, and cries, Lord, save me." 

The facts of this case furnish an interesting illustration 
of faith, considered as " looking unto Jesus." Look away 
from every other object to him ; fix an intense and 
exclusive regard upon the almighty and all-gracious 
Saviour ; and so long as you continue thus " looking 
unto Jesus," as full of truth, and love, and power, you 
will be equal to any difficulty, duty, or emergency. An 
all-pervading consciousness of personal interest in Iris 
unlimited resources will lift you above your own weakness 
and insufficiency. You will be strong in the Lord and in 
the power of his might, and enabled to exult with David 
of old, saying, "By the name of my God have I run 
through a troop, and leaped over a wall." " All things 
are possible to him that believeth," just because, by 
believing, he appropriates infinite wisdom, omnipotent 
power, and eternal love, as his necessities require. His 
triumphant song is : — 

" The thing surpasses all my thought ; 
But faithful is my Lord ; 
Through unbelief I stagger not, 
For God hath spoke the word. 

" Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees, 
And looks to that alone ; 
Laughs at impossibilities, 

And cries, ' It shall be done ! ' " 



WALKING ON THE SEA TOWAKD CHRIST. 89 

All this will come of looking to Christ, — believing his 
word,- — acting on his authority. But, alas for us ! how 
often we permit our attention to be turned elsewhere I 
how often we are interrupted in our walk of faith by the 
sight of things surrounding ! Like Peter, we foolishly 
look away from our Lord to ourselves and our circum- 
stances ; and, like him, we immediately get into trouble. 
Similar effects follow in our case, as in that of Peter. 
Doubts and fears arise ; we are discouraged by the sight 
of difficulty, — we are deterred by the apprehension of 
danger, and unmanned by the presence of spiritual foes. 
We see nothing but a sea of trouble round and under- 
neath us ; and we begin to sink. 

Nor will this at all surprise us, if we consider the facts. 
Our personal resources for duty, difficulty, trial, and con- 
flict, are altogether inadequate. Our necessities are far 
beyond our means. Ten thousand facts corroborate the 
Saviour's words, "Without me ye can do nothing." 
We cannot fulfil this duty, or overcome this difficulty, or 
endure this trial, or sustain this conflict. Look to your- 
selves ; have regard to your ignorance, frailty, and vile- 
ness, and you are undone. Like Peter, you will begin to 
sink. The great lesson which we have to learn is, to look 
more to Christ, and less to ourselves and our circum- 
stances. We shall then each one be able to say, " I can 
do all things through Christ which strengthened me." 
(Phil. iv. 13.) Like Peter, we shall then be calm in the 
midst of surrounding peril, and enabled triumphantly to 
walk over a sea of difficulty. 



90 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

We pass on now to notice the gracious interposition of 
Christ in behalf of his perishing disciple, and the reproof 
which was at the same time administered. " And imme- 
diately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, 
and said unto him, thou of little faith, wherefore didst 
thou doubt?" Peter sees the error which he has com- 
mitted by the danger in which it has involved him ; 
and once more he turns away from every surrounding 
object to Christ ; he has no help or hope but in him : 
" Lord, save me." Was there ever such an appeal as this 
made to Christ in vain ? Did ever any one sink while 
the eye was directed to Christ, and the prayer, "Lord, save 
me," was uttered? No ! no ! The cry of the perishing 
is never unheeded. The ear of our Lord is ever open, 
and his heart of love responds to the earnest application. 
Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him : the error 
and weakness and guilt of Peter are all overlooked until 
he is rescued from danger. The hand of the Omnipotent 
Saviour takes hold of him, and he is safe. Then follows 
the reproof, " thou of little faith !" In the remarks 
previously made, we have represented the faith of Peter as 
a signal and glorious triumph, — as having accomplished 
that which faith never did either before that time or since. 
It may, perhaps, be thought that this representation is 
scarcely consistent with the terms employed by our 
Saviour in conveying his reproof. He calls it "little 
faith," and demands an explanation of its littleness ; 
"Wherefore didst thou doubt?" There is, however, as 
we apprehend, no inconsistency at all. The faith of 



WALKING OX THE SEA TOWAKD CHRIST. 91 

Peter was great when he left the ship, and while he 
steadily looked to Jesus, and walked on the sea. But the 
words of Christ do not refer at all to the faith of Peter 
during this period, but to the time when he began to 
fear and sink. Then his faith was little. And well might 
the Saviour exclaim, " thou of little faith ! " when the 
time dming which it was sustained, and the circumstances 
under which it failed, are taken into account. If Peter's 
effort of faith had been followed by only indifferent success, 
we should not have been surprised at its yielding to dis- 
couragement and a sense of imminent danger. If Christ 
had been at a distance, or given any sign of withdrawing 
his power, no wonder then that Peter should fear 
and fail. But the contrary of all this is true ; and the 
failure took place at the moment when the triumph was 
complete, — at the very time when Almighty Power 
was upholding him in a singularly glorious position, — in 
the very presence of Christ, and while enjoying the tokens 
of his special favour. Well, indeed, might the Saviour 
say, " thou of little faith !" 

Strictly speaking, that faith may be described as little, 
which yields to the pressure of any circumstances what- 
ever. The promise is true ; the grace is sufficient ; the 
mercy is everlasting. Xo necessities of ours can possibly 
exceed the provision graciously made ; no emergency can 
be greater than the resources ; no possible combination of 
evils beyond His ability to whom all power in heaven and 
in earth is given. In any case, therefore, we may say, 



92 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

with holy exultation, "If God be for us, who can be 
against us ?" 

Considering the divine resources which are placed 
at the disposal of God's people for their safety and 
happiness, feeble and fitful faith is at once our folly and 
our sin. If we were to look to ourselves, or to others 
like ourselves, for what things were necessary, failure 
would not be at all surprising. The man who failed 
would be a fitter subject for pity than for blame. The 
wonder then would not be that the duty proved too ardu- 
ous, or the difficulty too great, or the trial too severe, or 
the enemy too formidable : the wonder would be that, in 
any case, such frail ones should succeed at all. 

In this light we must consider the words of reproof 
now addressed to Peter. "Wherefore didst thou 
doubt ?" The failure of his faith was, under the circum- 
stances, unaccountable, — inexcusable ; and an explanation 
is demanded. " ' Wherefore didst thou doubt ? ' Have I 
deceived thee ? Did I not give thee authority ? Did not 
I uphold thee? Didst thou not actually walk on the 
water, as thou desiredst ? ' Wherefore didst thou doubt ?' " 
Eut no answer is returned by Peter. He was self- 
condemned, and speechless. He could not but feel, that 
in this he was most deserving of blame ; that his conduct 
was altogether without reason, and indefensible. 

But let us pass from Peter to ourselves. We can 
easily see where he was worthy to be blamed ; and per- 
haps some persons may be disposed to think, — if they 



WALKING ON THE SEA TOWARD CHEIST. 93 

had only been in his place, how much better they would 
have done ! It is certainly possible that they would have 
done better, but not at all likely. Eut, apart from this, 
the question now is, whether our faith has ever failed, 
and whether that failure has not been equally open to 
the rebuke addressed to Peter. We have endeavoured to 
show that unbelief in any case is inexcusable, and there- 
fore worthy of rebuke. Eut this consideration is fre- 
quently overlooked ; and when we complain of or rebuke 
the failure of faith, we are met by a special pleading of 
the peculiar circumstances under which the failure has 
occurred. " It was not an ordinary cloud that obscured 
my sky, and darkened my path. It was no common 
perplexity which involved me : my way was entirely 
blocked up. Mine was not the affliction which ordinarily 
is permitted to overtake the children of men, but one 
distressing and painful to the last degree. The heat of 
the furnace was intense : the difficulty was that of an 
impassable mountain : the enemy came in like a flood." 
All this may be admitted ; but still the reproving inquiry 
is, ""Wherefore didst thou doubt?" Look back upon 
the history of his dealings with his people, and see 
whether they have not, in circumstances as peculiar and 
extreme as yours, been helped of God. Has not his 
grace in every instance proved sufficient? There was 
darkness in Egypt, — darkness which might be felt ; but 
light was strangely shining in the dwellings of his people. 
The way of Israel was blocked up, — the mountains on 



94 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

either side, the foe behind, the sea before ; but he made 
a path through the sea, by causing the waters to stand up 
as a wall on either side. They were in the wilderness ; 
but he gave them bread from heaven, and waters from the 
flinty rock. His faithful servants were thrown into the 
furnace, seven times heated; but the Son of Man was 
with them, controlling the intense heat of its flame, so 
that they walked unhurt, and even " the smell of fire had 
not passed on them." The Lord who could do these 
things can do anything. " Wherefore dost thou doubt?" 
A reason is demanded ; but no reason can be given. A 
thousand reasons can be given for our loftiest and most 
vigorous faith, but none for doubt. 

" Here, then, I doubt no more, 

But in his pleasure rest, 
Whose wisdom, love, and truth, and power 
Engage to make me blest. 

" To' accomplish his design, 

The creatures all agree ; 
And all the attributes divine 

Are now at work for me." 



SCENE IV. 

RECEIVING THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM OE HEAVEN. 

" He saith unto them, But -whom say ye that I am ? And Simon 
Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the 
living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed 
art thou, Simon Bar-jona : for flesh and blood hath not revealed 
it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say 
also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will 
build my church ; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against 
it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of 
heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be 
bound in heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth 
shall be loosed in heaven." — Matt. xvi. 15-19. 

Some time ago, we were favoured with the opportunity 
of attending a lecture illustrative of the classic remains of 
ancient Greece. In the course of the evening, we were 
shown a distant view of a beautiful temple. In the 
distance the building seemed almost entire. The long 
row of exquisitely proportioned pillars impressed the 
beholder with the idea of strength and elegance combined : 
and it was ahnost impossible to think that we were 
looking on a picture of the ruins of a thousand years. 
We were afterwards presented with a near view of the 

H 



96 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEK. 

same building: and then how different was its appear- 
ance ! We found that, in this case, 

" 'Twas distance lent enchantment to the view." 

The pillars which had previously appeared so symmetrical 
and perfect, were now seen to be rough and mouldering ; 
the tooth of time had been gnawing at them; their 
polish and beauty were gone ; and, while we gazed upon 
them, the predominant feeling was that of wonder, that the 
fractured and crumbling pillars should stand another day. 
The portion of holy Scripture to which our attention is 
now to be directed, constitutes " the pillar " upon which 
the Church of Eome mainly rests the alleged doctrine of 
the supremacy of St. Peter. Take only a cursory, or, if 
you will, a distant, view of this passage, and it may seem 
like one of the pillars spoken of above : it may appear of 
just proportions, a strong and polished shaft, well fitted 
to sustain some such doctrine concerning Peter as that 
referred to. But come to look at it more carefully, — 
examine closely the base, the shaft, the capital, and the 
entablature, — and you will be surprised at the fact of its 
ever having been thought capable of even countenancing 
a doctrine so demonstrably unscriptural, or of giving 
support to a fabric so monstrously absurd. We venture 
to predict, that any one of you will feel that you can 
easily do by this pillar, as Samson did by those upon 
which the Pagan temple of the Philistines rested. He 
grasped them, bowed himself, and the building fell. 



RECEIVING THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 97 

At the same time it is only right to say, that able and 
learned men have been mnch divided in opinion as to the 
precise import of some of the words and phrases now to 
be considered. And it is very far from our wish to 
dogmatize, or seem to claim infallibility for the inter- 
pretation about to be submitted. The endeavour will be 
to furnish such an exposition of the particular terms 
employed, as may, on the whole, be considered highly 
probable. And the hope is, that the general meaning of 
the whole passage will be clearly and consistently exhi- 
bited, and received as satisfactory, at least by the majority 
of those under whose notice it is brought. At any rate, 
we shall be able to demonstrate, that by no fair canon of 
interpretation can this passage be made to support the 
Papal figment of Peter's supremacy. 

We cannot peruse the history of St. Peter without 
discovering occasion to glorify God in him, as one of the 
most honoured, zealous, and useful servants of Christ. 
Nevertheless, there are some of the features of Peter's 
character which we can neither greatly admire, nor com- 
mend to general imitation; and there are some of his 
sayings and doings which are open to serious exception. 
Perhaps it is on this account that one is all the more 
disposed to rejoice, when we meet with that which is pre- 
eminently excellent, either in his words or in his actions. 
One of the best things Peter ever said, was that which he 
said immediately before Christ promised him the keys. 
Having inquired into the opinion entertained concerning 
h 2 



98 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

him by the people at large, Jesus desires to be informed 
what his disciples thought of him : " But whom say ye 
that I am?" Peter, who was always ready, answered, 
"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." This 
notable confession of the Divinity and Messiahship of 
Christ reflects the highest credit both upon the under- 
standing and the heart of Peter. It was not only approved 
but eulogized by Christ ; and a blessing was pronounced 
on Peter, to whom the glorious truths he thus confessed 
had been specially revealed of God : " Blessed art thou, 
Simon Bar-jona : for flesh and blood hath not revealed it 
unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." These 
words clearly imply, that Peter had been greatly honoured 
by having this revelation made to him : and the Bedeemer, 
continuing his address, discovers the import of the bless- 
ing just pronounced. It is worthy of remark, that our 
Lord, in the first instance, calls Peter by the name he 
bore previous to becoming a disciple, — "Simon, son of 
Jona;" and then immediately proceeds to call him by 
the name which he had himself given him, namely, 
"Peter;" taking advantage of its signification to teach 
important truth concerning the foundation and stability 
of his church. 

But although the words of Peter, and the meaning of 
his name, are thus employed for the conveyance of 
important truth, we cannot, with any show of fairness, 
conclude that the address of Christ relates exclusively to 
him ; that whatever that address implies belongs to him, - 



RECEIVING THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 99 

apart from liis fellow- disciples. The question, "Whom 
say ye that I am?" was not proposed to Peter, but to all 
the disciples : and Peter only answers in their name. It 
is but fair, therefore, to conclude, that the remarks of 
Christ upon that answer relate to all whose sentiments 
the answer had expressed. And it will be found, that, 
with a single exception, to be afterwards carefully consi- 
dered, the other disciples went share and share alike with 
Peter ; he had no pre-eminence. 

Perhaps the more convenient course, and that which 
will help the most to guide us to a right understanding 
of the whole, will be to offer an explanation of the 
several terms in the following order:- -the "church," and 
the "Pock" upon which it is built; "the kingdom of 
heaven," and "the keys" of it; and the apostolical 
prerogative to "bind" and "loose." 

"The church." — There are few words employed more 
frequently, or with a wider range of application, or a 
more varied meaning, than " church." And one feels it 
to be an almost hopeless task to attempt an explanation, 
although it is proposed to help us to a definite idea by 
such prefixes as "visible," "spiritual," "real," "parti- 
cular," or " universal, church." In the loose language 
of many, " church " is made to mean every thing, from the 
very highest point of spirit ualization, down to the very 
lowest point of bricks and rnortar, or any other building 
material. It may be remarked here, that the original 
term ecclesia, generally rendered "church," is not applied 



100 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

in the New Testament to a building, for whatever pur- 
poses erected or employed. We sometimes read of a 
church in a house, but never of a house being a church. 
The church is uniformly represented as composed of living- 
men and women, and not of building material. It may 
perhaps be a convenience to call our places of worship 
" churches ;" and if the literal meaning of the word from 
which "church" is derived (KvpiaKbs, "of," or "relating to, 
the Lord ") were generally understood, and the term was 
employed merely to describe the building as belonging to 
the Lord, little need be said against such an employment 
of the term. 

The passage now before us is the first in the New 
Testament in which the word " church " occurs. The 
original so translated is iKKXtjaia, from e/c/caAew, which sig- 
nifies "to call out" or "forth," "to summon." The 
church is therefore an assembly of the people called out, 
whether by the civil Magistrate, or by any other authority. 
In this sense of a public assembly the word is used, Acts 
xix. 32, 39, 40. In every case we are to understand the 
word to mean an organized body, in opposition to a casual 
meeting. In its religious application the word signifies 
an assembly or society of men, called out of mankind by 
the word of God, and is in this sense applied to the 
general assembly of the Israelitish people. (Deut. xviii. 16.) 
In the present instance the word is, no doubt, applied to 
the entire body of those who profess to believe in Christ, 
and are united in his name to worship and serve him. 



BECEIVING THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 101 

This is what is called "the universal church of Christ." 
The word is also applied to particular portions of the 
universal church, as they are identified with a given place, 
as in Acts xvi. 5. In the Thirty-nine Articles of the 
Church of England, the visible church is defined to be "a 
congregation of faithful" (that is, of believing) " men, in 
the which the pure word of God is preached, and the 
sacraments duly administered, according to Christ's ordi- 
nance, in all those things that of necessity are requisite to 
the same." " Every society of true Christians is a 
church ; for such particular societies are so denominated 
in the New Testament : but the body of the faithful 
throughout the world constitutes the church of Christ ; and 
it is in this general sense that the term is here used. It 
is not the church of Jerusalem, nor the church of Borne, 
nor the church of Antioch, or of any other place, nor any 
body of Christians distinguished from others by some 
external peculiarity; but all who love our Lord Jesus 
Christ in every place." 

This church, composed of living men and women, mani- 
festly could not be built upon Peter, personally considered ; 
his person could not be literally the foundation for such 
a superstructure. If the church is to be built upon Peter 
at all, it must be upon Peter considered as an Apostle ; 
not upon any personal qualities he might possess, but 
upon his office and ministry. It is impossible to take 
the words of Christ in other than a figurative sense. 
They must be taken as referring to Peter in his official 



102 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

capacity, — to the truth he taught, or the work he per- 
formed ; and as designed to show that the teaching and 
work of Peter as a Minister of Christ would answer to the 
church, as a foundation-stone answers to the building. 
This is substantially the same interpretation as that which 
makes the memorable confession of Peter to be the rock 
to which the Saviour's words refer. 

" Thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my 
church." There is here manifestly, as we think, what is 
ordinarily called " a play upon words/' Peter signifies " a 
stone," or "rock;" and our Lord, taking advantage of 
the meaning of his name, declares the foundation and 
stability of his church. " Thou art Peter," a stone, or 
rock, and " upon this rock," — not upon thee, but " upon 
this rock," upon this which bears a relation to my church, 
answering to the meaning of thy name, — " upon this rock 
will I build my church." We think there is considerable 
weight in the argument founded by some upon the differ- 
ence of termination between Uerpos and -artrpa. No 
satisfactory reason can be assigned for our Lord changing 
the term from rieVpos to -areVpa: and it certainly would 
have been much more direct to have said, " Thou art 
Peter, and upon thee will I build," &c, if it had been 
intended in any sense to make him the foundation. Ac- 
cording to this view, the general sense of the word may 
be given in the following paraphrase : " Thou art Peter," 
a stone or rock, "and upon this," (namely, the great and 
essential truth concerning the divinity and Messiahship ot 



RECEIVING THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 103 

Christ, which Peter had just professed for himself and 
fellow- disciples,) "upon this," as upon a "rock, will I 
build my church. 55 

" The application of the term c rock 5 to Peter is incon- 
sistent with the reference which is made to the preceding 
context in the commencement of this verse, ' And I also 
say unto thee, 5 which evidently points to our Lord's 
divine dignity therein mentioned, e Thou art the Christ,' 
the true foundation or rock on which alone the church is 
built ; because our faith in him, as ' the Son of the living 
God, 5 is the only security or rock of our salvation. And 
hence true faith builds on a foundation against which the 
gates of hell shall never prevail ; and he who hears the 
sayings of Christ, and doeth them, builds his house upon 
a rock. 55 

If, however, it be thought on the whole preferable to 
apply the words to Peter himself, rather than to the truth 
which he confessed, we have to repeat what has been 
already stated, that they must be referred to Peter, not as 
he is personally considered, but considered in his office 
and ministry as an Apostle. And then, in respect to 
these, he was but one of twelve, all sustaining the same 
office, and fulfilling the duties of the same ministry, and 
therefore associated with him in the honour of this 
foundation-work in the Christian church. So we read of 
the church being " built upon the foundation of the 
Apostles; 55 (Eph. ii. 20;) and of the new Jerusalem it 
is said, " The walls of the city had twelve foundations, 



104 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

and in them the names of the twelve Apostles of the 
Lamb." (Kev. xxi. 14.) Neither Peter nor any other of 
the Apostles, nor all of them put together, can be the 
foundation of the church of Christ. Their names are in 
the foundation-stones, as they were honoured of God to 
lay the foundation by preaching Jesus to men, by pro- 
claiming him " the Christ, the Son of the living God," by 
teaching his saving truth, and administering his ordi- 
nances. But Jesus himself is the time Foundation. It 
was of him the prophecy was delivered, " Behold, I lay in 
Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious 
corner-stone, a sure foundation." (Isai. xxviii. 16.) 

Having spoken of the foundation, the Saviour now 
proceeds to speak of the stability, of his church : " The 
gates of hell shall not prevail against it." It shall be 
perfectly secure, and shall abide for ever. If " hell " be 
taken here for the invisible world, "hades," or "death," 
then the meaning will be, that, although the members of 
the church will be continually passing away in death, the 
church shall not fail. Christ will replenish her with 
those whom he has quickened by his life-giving Spirit. 
Death is, indeed, unceasingly waning against the church, 
carrying off her members and Ministers without let or 
hinderance ; in fact, claiming, and actually seizing, every 
one of them as lawful prey. But death shall not prevail. 
From generation to generation there shall be added to the 
church the thousands of them that are saved. 

If " hell " is to be understood of evil spirits, then the 



RECEIVING THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 105 

meaning is, that, with all their policy and power, they 
shall never be able to conquer or overthrow the church of 
Christ. The two ideas of "policy" and "power" are 
suggested by "the gates." More especially in ancient 
times the gates and walls were the security and strength 
of cities ; and in the gates it was customary to hold 
courts of judicature, and also to assemble the chief men 
and elders in council, and there to determine on peace 
or war, and to arrange their plans. 

" The gates of hell " are therefore here put metapho- 
rically for the policy and power of infernal spirits ; and 
the assurance of our Lord is to the effect, that, whatever 
counsel they may take, by whatever schemes they may 
endeavour to undermine or overthrow the church, what- 
ever forces of strength they may bring to bear against 
her, they shall not prevail. The church will neither be 
circumvented by their crafty schemes, nor undermined by 
their subtle policy, nor vanquished by their power. She 
shall be safe, absolutely and for ever safe. Hell has, in- 
deed, succeeded often in producing treason and comvption 
w it hin the church ; and, by her tremendous power without, 
in making a breach in the wall here, or destroying a bat- 
tlement there, but only to be again repulsed and driven 
back. Hell has wielded the authority of human law, and 
directed the force of arms, against the church : the dun- 
geon and the rack, the gibbet and the stake, have all been 
laid under contribution to destroy the church, but all in 
vain. The church lives still. She survives the conflict 



106 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

of eighteen hundred years. During that period she has 
been " troubled on every side, yet not distressed ; per- 
plexed, but not in despair ; persecuted, but not forsaken ; 
cast down, but not destroyed." And the time will come 
when the last resources of the adversary shall have been 
expended, and the church shall finally and gloriously 
triumph ; the battle shall be turned to the gate ; the 
kingdom of darkness shall be utterly overthrown, and the 
foul usurper driven back to his own hell. 

" I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of 
heaven." The " kingdom of heaven " is a phrase of 
frequent occurrence in the New-Testament Scriptures, and 
has a somewhat varied application. It is applied to the 
realms of the blessed, to the spiritual benefits of the 
Gospel, and, generally, to the evangelical dispensation. 
In this last application it occurs in the passage before us. 
It is often taken to mean here the Christian church, — a 
sense which it is not clear the words ever have in the 
New Testament ; and a most faulty and misleading inter- 
pretation has been given. The promise of " the keys " 
is made to mean authority and power to admit into, and 
to shut out from, the church of Christ. Now, that the 
Apostles had such authority and power, no one questions 
for a moment. That it belonged to them authoritatively 
to lay down the terms of admission to, and of continued 
membership in, the church of Christ, and also to exercise 
full power in enforcing the same, nobody doubts. And 
even with regard to the ordinary Ministers of Christ, we 



RECEIVING THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 107 

think it can be successfully maintained, that it is their 
business to teach, and guide, and govern ; and that they 
are mainly, though not exclusively, responsible for the 
purity of the church, which is dependent upon the 
character of the parties admitted to, and retained 
in, membership. All this is fully conceded ; but we 
question whether this was meant by the promise of " the 
keys." 

It is said, that when the Jews made a man a Doctor of 
the Law, they put into his hand the key of the closet in the 
temple, where the sacred books were kept, and also tablets 
to write upon; signifying by this, that they gave him 
authority to teach and to explain the Scriptures to the 
people. " Still, without any reference to this subject, 
supposing it is as old as our Lord's day, the figure very 
naturally expresses the opening of c the mysteries of the 
kingdom of heaven,' by public teaching, and so setting 
open the doors of evangelical knowledge, and, by conse- 
quence, of the Christian church. This is a much more 
natural exposition of this emblem, in this connexion, than 
that which regards it as significant of the committal of 
power and authority to govern the church." 

We think this the simple and obvious meaning of the 
passage. And so far as the promise may be considered 
with exclusive reference to Peter, subsequent events con- 
firm the interpretation. " I will give unto thee the keys 
of the kingdom of heaven." Peter had the honour of 
opening the Christian dispensation. He was the first to 



108 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

preach after the effusion of the Holy Ghost on the Day 01 
Pentecost, when the evangelical dispensation was fully 
and formally opened. The promise was fulfilled to him : 
he received the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and 
opened the door both to Jews and Gentiles. To the 
Jews he opened the door on the Day of Pentecost ; (Acts 
ii. 14-36 ;) and to the Gentiles, in the person of Cornelius. 
The fact that Peter first preached the Gospel after the 
descent of the Holy Ghost, — preached it both to the 
Jews and to the Gentiles, — explains the meaning of the 
promise made to him by Christ, " I will give unto thee 
the keys of the kingdom of heaven. " 

One phrase more remains to be considered : " Whatso- 
ever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven : 
and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed 
in heaven." Binding or loosing were terms in frequent 
use among the Jews, and meant, that a thing was bidden 
or forbidden, — granted or refused, — declared lawful or 
unlawful. To " bind" a thing was to forbid it ; to " loose" 
it, to allow it to be done. For example, they said about 
gathering wood on the Sabbath-day, "The school of 
Shammei binds it," that is, forbids it to be done ; " The 
school of Hillel looses it," that is, allows it to be done. 
When, therefore, Jesus gave this power of binding and 
loosing to his Apostles, he gave them authority to bid or 
forbid, to enjoin or to prohibit, in the church ; in other 
words, to declare what was true or false, — lawful or unlaw- 
ful, — optional or obligatory. And the promise is, that 



RECEIVING THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 109 

what they thus did, should be divinely sanctioned and 
confirmed : what they bound on earth should be bound 
in heaven; and what they loosed on earth should be 
loosed in heaven. They were to be infallibly guided in 
the organization of the church, first, by the teaching of 
Christ, and, secondly, by the teaching of the Holy 
Spirit. 

It will be observed, that the reference is to things, and 
not to persons ; " whatsoever," not " whosoever." Proba- 
bly, there may be a particular reference to rites and ceremo- 
nies. Such of the Jewish customs as they should forbid, 
were to be unlawful ; and such as they permitted, were to 
be allowed. What they appointed in the church should 
have the force of divine authority. 

" Under these terms, therefore, our Lord gave his dis- 
ciples authority to declare the law of the Gospel dispen- 
sation, under the guidance of his own teaching, and the 
inspiration of his Holy Spirit ; — which authoritative decla- 
ration of the terms of man's forgiveness, and how Chris- 
tians ought to walk so as to secure the approbation of 
God, and that the infliction of divine displeasure, which 
should follow disobedience, he promises should be con- 
firmed in heaven ; — as constituting his own law and rule of 
moral government, to be laid down by them first in their 
preaching, and then in their writings. It is this which 
distinguishes those writings from all others. They not 
only contain a revelation of truth from God, but they have 
an authority as law derived from this, — that God himself 



110 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

acts upon them. Whatever the Apostles have in those 
writings bound is a matter of conscience; it must be 
obeyed, not of choice merely, but of necessity, since our 
salvation depends upon it : but whatever they have not 
bound is loose to us ; we are free from it, and no lower 
authority can make it binding on the conscience, or con- 
nect with our disregard of it the penalty of the divine dis- 
pleasure."* 

Having thus endeavoured to give a clear and consistent 
interpretation of the several words and phrases contained 
in this important passage, the meaning of the whole may 
be thus summarily expressed : In the great truths which 
relate to Christ, as the Son of God, and the anointed Saviour, 
set forth in the confession of Peter, and in the apostolic 
ministry, the church is founded ; and, thus founded, per- 
fectly secure against the assaults and the craft of hell. In 
their ministry of the truth as it is in Jesus, the Apostles 
opened the Gospel of grace to men. They were em- 
powered to teach and act infallibly; so that what they 
taught, enjoined, and instituted, was ratified in hea- 
ven, and remains binding as the law of God through all 
time. 

But there is another and a widely different interpreta- 
tion of this passage, to which it would be inexcusable in 
us not to refer. It is that to which allusion was made in 
the commencement of these observations, — the interpreta- 

* Richard Watson. 



RECEIVING THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. Ill 

tion of the Papal Church. According to this, Peter 
receives an authority distinct from, and superior to, that 
given to the other Apostles, and is constituted their 
Prince. Xow, if this interpretation, erroneous though it 
plainly is, involved nothing more than a pre-eminence of 
Peter among the twelve, — a pre-eminence which termi- 
nated with himself, — we should not greatly concern 
ourselves about it. As an abstract proposition, it is of 
comparatively little importance. But when Peter is 
exalted by the Papal Chinch, for the purpose of exalting 
herself, and justifying her claim to lord it over the heri- 
tage of God ; when Peter is made a Prince, that the Pope 
may reign as his pretended successor ; when the most 
astounding prerogatives are thus given to Peter, and then 
with the utmost coolness transferred to the Man of Sin ; 
and when the history of the world declares, that, in the 
maintenance of these prerogatives, he has usurped the 
authority of God, and practically ignored his holy word ; 
has domineered over the conscience, darkened the mind, 
and denied the heart ; has annulled the rights and tram- 
pled on the sacred liberties of man : — when we mark all 
this, it behoves us to examine the interpretation, to reveal 
its unsoundness, and its utter inconsistency with the 
facts, the doctrines, and the spirit of the Xew Testament. 
T\ 'hen Christ said to Peter, " Upon this rock will I 
build my church. I will give unto thee the keys of the 
kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on 
earth shall be bound in heaven," — Peter was invested with 

I 



112 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

supreme authority and power : this authority and power 
he conveyed to the Pope of Rome as his successor : and 
he is, therefore, entitled to claim an universal supremacy. 
So says the Papal Church. 

We would not run the risk of misrepresenting her 
views in this matter, by setting forth the doctrine of her 
supremacy in other words than her own. In her canon 
law she tells us, that " the Pope, by the Lord's appoint- 
ment, is the successor of the blessed Apostle Peter, and 
holds the place of the Eedeemer himself upon the earth." 
" The Roman Church, by the appointment of our Lord, is 
the mother and mistress of all the faithful/' "The 
Roman Pontiff bears the authority, not of a mere man, 
but of the true God, upon the earth." "The Pope holds 
the place of God in the earth, that he may confer eccle- 
siastical benefices without diminution." " Christ, the 
King of kings, and Lord of lords, gave to the Roman 
Pontiff, in the person of Peter, the plenitude of power." 

In the Creed of Pius IY. we read, " I acknowledge the 
Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of Rome to be the 
mother and mistress of all churches ; and I promise and 
swear true obedience to the Roman Pontiff, successor of 
the Prince of the Apostles, St. Peter, and the Vicegerent 
of Christ." 

The Council of Trent calls the Roman Church " the 
mother and mistress of all churches," and " commands all 
Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, Bishops, and all 
others, to promise and vow true obedience to the Roman 



RECEIVING THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 113 

Pontiff," styling him "the Vicegerent of God npon 
earth." 

The Catechism drawn np by command of the Conncil 
of Trent declares " the visible head of the Chnrch " to 
be he " who, as the legitimate successor of Peter, the 
Prince of the Apostles, holds the Eoman chair:" and it 
scruples not to assert, that, inasmuch as the Pope " sits 
in that chair, in which it is evident that Peter, the Prince 
of the Apostles, sat to the end of his life, it " (the Catho- 
lic Church) " acknowledges, that the highest grade of dig- 
nity is in him, and that unlimited jurisdiction has been 
given to him, not by any synodical or other human con- 
stitutions, but from heaven; wherefore, as the successor 
of Peter, and the true and legitimate Yicar of Jesus 
Christ, he presides over the church universal, being the 
Father and Governor of all the faithful, and of Bishops, 
and of all other Prelates, no matter with what office and 
power they may be endued." 

But even this is not all. In defining the authority and 
power which they allege were given to Peter, the Roman- 
ists affirm, that the grant included temporal as well as 
spiritual power ; and that the Pope, who is Peter's suc- 
cessor, is "Bishop of Bishops, Ordinary of Ordinaries, 
universal Bishop of the Church, Bishop or Diocesan of 
the whole world, divine Monarch, supreme Emperor, and 
King of Kings. Hence the Pope is crowned with a triple 
crown, as King of heaven, of earth, and of hell." 

To give but one example of these astounding claims, 
I 2 



1 14; SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

as preferred by a Pope, we give an extract from the Bull 
of Pius V. against Queen Elizabeth. The Bull is entitled, 
"The Damnation and Excommunication of Elizabeth, 
Queen of England, and her Adherents, with an Addition 
of other Punishments, " and declares, " He that reigneth 
on high, to whom is given all power in heaven and in 
earth, committed one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church 
(out of which there is no salvation) to one alone upon 
earth, namely, to Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, and 
to Peter's successor, the Bishop of Home, to be governed 
in fulness of power. Him alone he made Prince over all 
people and all kingdoms, to pluck up, destroy, scatter, 
consume, plant, and build. " 

This doctrine of the supremacy of Peter — this Papal 
conglomerate of pride and despotism, of falsehood and 
blasphemy — is mainly, though not entirely, rested upon 
the passage we are now considering. Other scriptures 
have, indeed, been wrested to this unholy service, vio- 
lently compelled to aid the proud and wicked pretensions 
of the son of perdition ; but this is reckoned upon as 
affording the principal support. With the others we 
have now nothing to do. And perhaps, with respect to 
the passage before us, it might be deemed sufficient were 
we to say, that neither the title, " Prince of the Apostles/' 
so often occurring in the above quotations, nor any other 
in the remotest degree answering thereto, is ever given to 
Peter in the sacred writings ; and that, instead of the 
church of Christ being intrusted with temporal and poli- 



RECEIVING THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 115 

tical power, her members are expressly required to sub- 
mit to the powers that be, as of God • to honour the 
King, and to be subject to every ordinance of man for the 
Lord's sake, and that not only for wrath, but also for 
conscience' sake. 

In things pertaining to the conscience, — to the worship 
of God, to the salvation of the soid, and to everlasting 
life, — the civil power has no authority whatever ; and, on 
the other hand, the Church has no right to intermeddle 
with the affairs of the State, much less to absolve subjects 
from the allegiance due to the Government under which 
they live. It is not the church's province to ride the 
ruler. It is not the rider's right to ride the chinch. 

In reply to the monstrous assumption of Peter's supre- 
macy, we are prepared to maintain these three things ; — 

I. That the doctrine which it contains is manifestly 
opposed to the spirit of the Gospel, and to the teaching 
of Christ. 

II. That Peter himself never claimed such authority 
and power, or any pre-eminence over his brethren. 

III. That his fellow-Apostles did not recognise any 
such supremacy as belonging to him. 

I. That the doctrine contained in "the supremacy 
of Pete?' " is manifestly opposed to the spirit of the Gos- 
pel, and to the teaching of Christ. The spirit of the 
Gospel is a spirit of humility and of brotherly love. In 
proportion as men come under its sweet and hallowing 
influence, they feel that thev are all one in Christ ; and 



116 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

that they can with joyfulness "in honour prefer one 
another," and "in lowliness of mind esteem each other 
better than themselves." The disciples, as yet not 
thoroughly imbued with the Saviour's doctrine and spirit, 
came to him, saying, " Who is the greatest in the kingdom 
of heaven ? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and 
set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto 
you, Except ye be converted, and become as little chil- 
dren, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 
Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little 
child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." 
(Matt, xviii. 1-4.) The spirit which led them to propose 
the question, was altogether bad ; and conversion from it 
was essential even to admission to the kingdom. " Ye 
know," said Christ, "that the Princes of the Gentiles 
exercise dominion over them, and they that are great 
exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so 
among you : but whosoever will be great among you, let 
him be your Minister ; and whosoever will be chief among 
you, let him be your servant : even as the Son of man 
came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to 
give his life a ransom for many." (Matt. xx. 25-28.) 
A wholly different spirit was to pervade his disciples, 
from that which pervaded the communities of men, and 
was developed in the government of nations : "It shall 
not be so among you." 

Again : our Lord not only contrasts the spirit which 
should pervade his disciples with that of the " Princes of 



RECEIVING THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 117 

the Gentiles," but also "with, that which obtained so 
extensively in the Jewish church, and in the management 
of its affairs. "The Scribes and the Pharisees sit in 
Moses' seat; — and love the uppermost rooms at feasts, 
and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in 
the markets, and to be called, of men, Eabbi, Eabbi. But 
be not ye called Eabbi: for one is your Master, even 
Christ ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your 
father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is 
in heaven. Xeither be ye called masters : for one is your 
Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you 
shall be your servant." (Matt, xxiii. 2, 6-10.) Xeither 
master, nor father, nor Prince is to be known among 
them ; for " all ye are brethren." 

Once more : our blessed Eedeemer did not only teach 
this doctrine of humility, but he proposed his own exam- 
ple of the amiable virtue for the imitation of his disciples : 
" He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments ; 
and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he 
poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the 
disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith 
he was girded. So after he had washed their feet, and 
had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said 
unto them, Know ye what I have done unto you ? Ye 
call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. 
If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet ; 
ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have 
given you an example, that ye should do as I have done 



118 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEK. 

to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not 
greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater 
than he that sent him." (John xiii. 4, 5, 12-16.) How 
superlatively ridiculous does the Pope appear, while enact- 
ing the annual farce at Eome of washing the disciples' 
feet! 

It is absolutely impossible to reconcile either the letter 
or the spirit of the passages quoted above with the alleged 
princely office and power of St. Peter on the one hand, or 
with the many high-sounding, impudent, and blasphemous 
titles and prerogatives of the Pope of Eome on the other. 
The assumption and arrogance of the Pope, " who opposeth 
and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that 
is worshipped : so that he as God sitteth in the temple 
of God, showing himself that he is God," — stand out in 
bold, wicked, and frightful opposition to the spirit, the 
precepts, and the example of the divine Saviour, who was 
emphatically " meek and lowly in heart." 

II. That Peter himself never claimed such authority and 
power > or any pre-eminence over his brethren. Is it not 
in the highest degree probable, yea, rather, is it not 
absolutely certain, that in the divinely inspired book of 
the Acts of the Apostles, — a book written for the express 
purpose of showing us how they carried into effect the 
instructions received from Christ, and accomplished the 
work he had assigned them, — a book in which are 
recorded the sayings and doings of Peter, both separately 
and in conjunction with his fellow-Apostles, — is it not 



RECEIVING THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 119 

certain, that we shall find Peter claiming and exercising 
the supremacy given him by Christ? Surely, if he is 
" Prince of the Apostles," he will act as such. He may 
rule mildly, and with Christian modesty assert his pre- 
rogatives ; but surely his chiefdom will, in some form or 
other, be asserted. But how stands the fact ? We 
challenge the production of a single passage setting forth 
such claim, or reference to a solitary act in which he 
appears above his brethren. 

Take, for example, what he said at the election of 
Matthias : he called the attention of the Apostles, in the 
presence of the hundred and twenty, to the vacancy in the 
apostleship, occasioned by the apostasy of Judas, and to 
the necessity, as he judged,* of that vacancy being filled 
up ; and then suggested, that, of the men who had com- 
panied with them all the time that the Lord Jesus had 



* It is by no means clear that Peter was authorized to take the 
part he did in this business. Yielding to the impulses of his nature, 
he was always prompt, and sometimes rash and hasty. TVhether it 
was so in this instance, we do not presume to say. But while it 
cannot be doubted that there was a necessity for filling up the vacant 
place, it by no means follows that Peter was called to move in this 
matter, or that the Apostles were competent in any sense to appoint 
an Apostle, or that an Apostle could be appointed except imme- 
diately by Christ himself. And it is worthy of remark, that the 
name of Matthias disappears at once from the sacred page ; that the 
Lord Jesus subsequently appeared, and himself appointed Paul to the 
apostleship ; and that, in reckoning up the number at the last, there 
are found but twelve, whose names are written on the twelve founda- 
tions of the new Jerusalem. 



120 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

been among them, one should be ordained to be a witness 
with them of the Saviour's resurrection. "And they 
appointed two," — " thep" not Peter, though he was the 
Prince of the Apostles, Lord over his brethren, and the 
Vicegerent of Christ. " They appointed two," Joseph and 
Matthias ; they nominated these two, and then prayed, 
" Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show 
whether of these two thou hast chosen, that he may take 
part of this ministry and apostleship." After this solemn 
appeal to their Divine Head, " they gave forth their lots ; 
and the lot fell upon Matthias." 

There could not have been a fitter opportunity for the 
exercise of Peter's supremacy than this. It was clearly 
the part of the Vicar of Christ to appoint to the vacant 
bishopric a new Suffragan; but he did not do so, or 
attempt to do it : he was only the spokesman. All 
united in the nomination of two, and then in prayer to 
God that he would choose between them. 

In the assembly of the Apostles and Elders at Jeru- 
salem, sometimes called " the Council of Jerusalem," Peter 
had another admirable opportunity of taking his place as 
chief, and asserting his prerogative. An important ques- 
tion was submitted for decision; and, after "there had 
been much disputing," Peter rose up and delivered his 
opinion. Then followed Barnabas and Paul. " And after 
they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men 
and brethren, hearken unto me:" and having, as it were, 
summed up the arguments that had been advanced, he 



EECEIVING THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 121 

delivered Ms decision, — " Wherefore ray sentence is," kc. 
He evidently acts as President of this assembly, and 
decides the case. James has the pre-eminence, not Peter. 
O, think you that if Peter had been chief of the Apostles, 
he would not have taken his place at the head of this 
Synod, and pronounced judgment in the case ? 

"We have," says Dr. Burnet, "two Epistles of St. 
Peter : in these, if his supremacy were a part of divine 
truth, we may naturally expect to find some mention of it, 
or at least we cannot imagine that he woidd use any 
expression contrary to the existence of an authority from 
which were to flow the security, prosperity, and infalli- 
bility of the universal church." 

" The ingenuity of Papal advocates cannot discover, in 
either of these Epistles, a single passage assenting or 
alluding to any peculiar power as vested in the Apostle ; 
whilst, on the other hand, brief as the Epistles are, they 
furnish many forms of expression fatal to the alleged 
superiority of St. Peter. Amongst these are the following : 
— The Eirst Epistle commences with the title of the writer, 
c Peter, an Apostle of Jesus Christ,' not, 'Peter, the 
Apostle, or the Vicegerent. ' The Second Epistle also 
announces the writer to be ' Simon Peter, a servant and 
an Apostle of Jesus Christ.' Addressing the laity, he 
says, ' Be mindful of the words which were spoken before 
by the holy Prophets, and of the commandment of us, the 
Apostles of the Lord and Saviour,' claiming no separate 
or peculiar power. When he addresses the Clergy, he 



122 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

says, * The Elders which are among you I exhort? There 
is here nothing of supreme authority, nothing of those 
royalties whereby Peter is said to have been ' the fountain 
of all pastoral jurisdiction;' and lest we might suppose 
that modesty or delicacy led the Apostle to use a less 
powerful term than he was entitled to employ, he dis- 
claims, in the very next words, any superiority of rank, as 
decidedly as he had in the word exhort guarded against 
the appearance of dictation : c The Elders which are 
among you I exhort, who am also an Elder' In this we 
have the exhortation of a brother, not the injunction of an 
absolute Monarch. How unlike the royalties of Peter is 
the following passage ! — ' Submit yourselves to every 
ordinance of man for the Lord's sake : whether it be to 
the King, as supreme, or unto Governors, as unto them 
that are sent by him for the punishment of evil-doers, 
and for the praise of them that do well.' Here we have 
the supremacy of temporal Monarchs over their subjects 
recognised, and the duty of Christian submission, even to 
Heathen Governments, most clearly enforced." 

Nothing can be plainer, therefore, than that Peter never 
claimed or attempted to exercise such authority and 
power as it is alleged Christ granted to him, when he said, 
" To thee will I give the keys of the kingdom of heaven." 

III. That his fellow-Apostles did not recognise any such 
supremacy as belonging to him. If they had, is it possible 
to conceive, that immediately after Peter had received this 
grant of dignity and power, — had been made the Prince 



RECEIVING THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 123 

of the Apostles, and the Vicegerent of Christ, — they 
could have brought to Christ such a question as this : 
" Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven ?" They 
could not but know that Peter was the greatest ; and, in 
that case, the question was an impertinence for which we 
cannot account. 

Again, we find Peter subject to the direction and dis- 
posal of his fellow -Apostles. (See Acts viii. 14.) Evi- 
dently there was no idea of Peter's supremacy entertained 
here. The Apostles consult together about the case of 
Samaria ; they are of opinion that some of their number 
should visit these new converts ; and they judge Peter one 
of the fittest for the service, and therefore they send him. 

But there is a still more remarkable fact, which proves 
conclusively that neither the Apostles nor the early 
Christians knew any thing of this supremacy of Peter. 
(i And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that 
were of the circumcision contended with him, saying, 
Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with 
them. But Peter rehearsed the matter from the begin- 
ning, and expounded it by order unto them." (Acts xi. 
2, 3.) These private members felt themselves at liberty 
to contend with the Apostle, — to impeach him in pre- 
sence of his brethren, — and to reprove him for what they 
held to be an impropriety in his conduct. In defending 
himself, Peter is content to give a simple history of this 
affair, showing that he had been divinely led to do as he 
had done, and that the sanction of God had so manifestly 



124 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEE. 

followed, that for him to have done any thing else than 
he did would have been to withstand God. He explained 
and justified his conduct to them, and they were satis- 
fied : "When they heard these things, they held their 
peace, and glorified God." If Peter had possessed what 
Papists claim for him, they durst not thus have called 
him to account, and reproved him : and if they had, he 
could have answered, by reminding them of his authority ; 
he could have asserted his princely and divine prerogative, 
instead of giving reasons and explanations. 

Once more, St. Paul, in writing to the Galatians, says, 
"When Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to 
the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that 
certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles : 
but when they were come, he withdrew and separated 
himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. 
And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him ; inso- 
much that Barnabas also was carried away with their 
dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked not 
uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel, I said unto 
Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after 
the manner of the Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why 
compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?" 
(Gal. ii. 11-14.) What a scene! What language to 
the Prince of the Apostles, — the Yicar of Christ, — the 
man who had the keys of heaven, and earth, and hell ! 

On the whole, therefore, we are warranted to affirm, that 
it is impossible to prove any fact more clearly than this, — 



RECEIVING THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 125 

that neither did St. Peter claim, nor did his fellow-disciples 
recognise, any such superiority as it has been assumed 
was given to him. What he received, he received in 
common with the others, with the single exception that 
he had the honour of opening the Christian dispensation. 

Such power as we have been considering belongs to 
God alone. It was never given to Peter, or to any one 
else. There is but one who holds the keys in such a 
sense as this. " I am he that liveth, and was dead ; and, 
behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen ; and have the keys 
of hell and of death." (Rev. i. 18.) Pie it is who cc open- 
eth, and no man shutteth ; and shutteth, and no man 
openeth." Christ is supreme. He is King in Sion. 
His name is above every name : n At the name of Jesus, 
every knee should bow, and every tongue confess that 
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father;" 
and Peter's testimony is, that " angels, and authorities, 
and powers are made subject unto him." 

With respect to the Ministers of Christ, they are 
authorized to declare his will to man, and to preach his 
doctrine. They are his Ambassadors, beseeching men to 
be reconciled to God. And it is with them, subject to 
certain principles which he has authoritatively laid down, 
to administer the affairs of his spiritual kingdom. But 
he has given them no right of dominion over the faith 
and consciences of men. It is not with them to open the 
kingdom of heaven to any one, or to shut it against any 
one, except by the declaration of Christ's revealed will, 



126 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

and the application of Christ's own law. The Apostles 
were divinely inspired to do this. Their authority was, 
therefore, infallible ; and the doctrines they preached, and 
the acts they performed, were divinely sanctioned and 
confirmed. That which they bound on earth was bound 
in heaven; and that which they loosed on earth was 
loosed in heaven. Jesus "breathed on them," and said, 
"Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose soever sins ye 
remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever 
sins ye retain, they are retained." (John xx. 22, 23.) 
And it followed, that, in founding the church, and in 
declaring the will of Christ, they were so taught of the 
Holy Ghost, that, with unerring truth, and with infallible 
authority, they declared on what terms, to what charac- 
ters, and to what temper of mind God would extend for- 
giveness of sins. They did not forgive men their sins, 
but by divine authority declared the terms and conditions 
on which they would be forgiven; and that those who 
refused to comply with these terms and conditions should 
not be pardoned, but punished. 

So far as the uninspired Ministers of Christ possess 
this power, its nature and limits are well defined in the 
Church-of-England form of absolution: "Almighty God, 
who hath given power and commandment to his Ministers 
to declare and pronounce to his people, heing penitent, the 
absolution and remission of their sins ; he pardoneth and 
absolveth all them that truly repent, and unfeignedly 
believe his holy Gospel." 



SCEXE V. 

OX THE HOLY MOUNT, ^VHERE HE WISHED TO 
REMAIN. 

"Axd after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his 
brother, and "bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, 
and was transfigured before them : and his face did shine as the 
sim, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, 
there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. 
Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for 
us to be here : if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles ; 
one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. "While he 
yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and 
behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved 
Son, in whom I am well pleased ; hear ye him.'"'" — Matt. xvii. 
1-5. 

Ix the quietude of the sanctuary we are privileged to 
commune with, and prepare for, another and better world. 
The thousand things which perplex, disturb, and try us, 
are for a while shut out. The cares of family and home, 
the anxieties of toil and business, are for a season left 
behind. TV~e hide us from the clamours of debate, and 
from the strife of tongues. TTe exchange the angry dis- 
putations about social grievances, political movements, 
and ecclesiastical order, for the songs of Zion, the fellow- 
ship of saints, and the pleasures of devotion. What with 
the vast political changes that are sweeping over the 

K 



128 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

nations, and rumours of wars now daily heard, many a 
man's heart is failing him for fear, in looking at the 
things that are coming on the earth; but in the taber- 
nacle of God we sing, " The Lord reigneth ; let the earth , 
rejoice; let the multitude of the isles be glad thereof." 
Confidence and peace are realized in the courts of God. 
Here we occupy a position somewhat analogous to that of 
the adventurous tourist on the mountain-top. A bright 
sky is above him, and he looks calmly down on the dark 
rolling clouds, the breaking storm, and the flashing 
lightning, far below him. He is elevated above the 
gloom and the peril, and only hears the reverberation of 
the distant thunder. It is clear above him, and quiet 
around. 

Eeader, we would guide you to a mountain scene, 
grander far than that alluded to. "VVe woidd guide you 
there, in the hope that some of those gracious influences 
which came upon the original spectators may come upon 
you, and that you with them may be constrained to say, 
11 Master, it is good for us to be here." 

It is often extremely difficult to determine the precise 
localities of sacred narrative : some of them are involved 
in hopeless uncertainty; but, with regard to most, we 
may with care arrive at a reasonable probability. In 
regard to the scene of our Lord's transfiguration, it was 
from the earliest times believed to have been Mount 
Tabor, situated in Galilee, in the plain of Esdraelon. 
We cannot speak positively as to whether this belief was 



ON THE MOUNT, WHEKE HE WISHED TO REMAIN. 129 

correct : we can affirm nothing beyond the probability 
that it was so. 

The appearance of Mount Tabor is exceedingly striking 
and beautiful. It rises, in a corneal form, from the most 
extensive plain in Palestine. The height is considerable, 
though not equal to the measurement given by Josephus. 
The sides are covered with shrubs and trees, some of the 
latter being of magnificent growth. The ascent, by a 
winding pathway, is so easy, that it may be performed on 
horseback. On the summit there is a plain of consider- 
able extent. Dr. Olin, speaking of the splendid oaks of 
Tabor, says, " Their dense spreading foliage gives to the 
mountain-side the aspect of a forest ; while the trees are 
actually so remote from each other, as not to injure vege- 
tation, nor would they interfere much with the scythe or 
the plough. The view strongly reminded me of the 
extensive wooded lawns seen about noble country-seats in 
many parts of England." 

The lofty summit of Mount Tabor commands one of the 
most extensive and enchanting prospects to be imagined. 
Beneath us is spread out the fertile plain of Esdraelon, 
beautified and enriched by the husbandman's skill. The 
delighted eye, having wandered over the fields of Jezreel, 
rests upon the Mediterranean Sea. Eastward is the Sea 
of Galilee, and on the north the snow-clad summits of 
Lebanon. Mountain and valley, forest and field, lake, 
river, and sea, unite in a scene of wondrous beauty. 

But we do not ask you to accompany us to " the Holy 
K 2 



130 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

Mount," for the purpose of showing you the natural 
scenery, rich and enchanting though it be ; but to behold 
your Saviour while he makes his glory visible, and to 
listen to the conversation of visitors from heaven, w T ho 
have come to do him honour. 

cc Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, 
and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart." 
These were the chosen three to witness this remarkable 
event in the Saviour's life. They appear to have enjoyed 
the special confidence of Christ, and were distinguished by 
him from their fellow-disciples on several important occa- 
sions. It may be observed that among the Jews the tes- 
timony of two or three persons was required in order to 
the establishment of a fact. These three, then, Peter, 
James, and John, are competent to establish what they 
saw, when they were privileged above all others to be 
" eye-witnesses of his majesty." 

St. Luke tells us that our Saviour, thus accompanied by 
his three disciples, went up into this mountain to pray ; 
and that it was as he prayed, that the glorious change took 
place. This is an interesting and important addition to 
the account which St. Matthew has given us, and suggests 
a train of profitable and pleasing thought. It reminds us 
how with the humbled condition of Christ are associated 
facts and scenes demonstrative of his glory ; and tells us 
that, though now found in fashion as a man, he is the 
Almighty's fellow. 

Prayer is the language of dependence. It is the appli- 



OX THE MOUNT, WHERE HE WISHED TO REMAIN. 131 

cation of the weak to the strong, — of the poor and needy to 
the affluent. The Son of God was humbled now; the 
brightness of the Father's glory was obscured; the 
beloyed Son was in a servant's form ; the Lord of all was 
poor ; and, as one of ourselves, is praying to his God and 
ours. But, though humbled in the attitude of prayer, he 
is exalted in a wondrous fashion. 

"The Word was," indeed, " made flesh," frail, needy, 
and perishing "flesh," and " dwelt among us," as one of 
us, only poorer and more afflicted; " stricken, smitten of 
God; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:" 
nevertheless, there were times when " we beheld his glory, 
the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father, full of 
grace and truth." It is deeply interesting to observe how 
the Saviour's divine glory is associated with the feeble- 
ness of his human nature, and the meanness of his worldly 
estate. 

Look at this for a moment. Is the Eedeemer born in 
obscurity? Angels herald the event; the glory of the 
Lord shines forth on Bethlehem, and a multitude of the 
heavenly host is heard singing, " Glory to God in the 
highest, and on earth peace, good- will toward men." 
Is there no room found in the inn for Joseph, and for 
Mary his mother, so that the babe is laid in a manger ? 
It is so ; but, behold, an unusual star appears in the East ; 
wise men are guided by it to the place where the babe is 
lying ; they bring him gifts of gold, and frankincense, and 
myrrh, and come to worship him. Are his parents driven 



132 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

with him into Egypt by the jealous Herod ? Yes ; but 
the angel of the Lord directs the flight. Is he baptized 
in the river Jordan? Behold, the heavens are opened, 
the Holy Ghost descends, and, like a dove, is seen to rest 
upon him, while a voice from the excellent glory is heard, 
saying, " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well 
pleased." Is he led into the wilderness, to be there 
tempted of the devil? Angels minister to him, and he 
gloriously triumphs. See ! he is rocked in the tempest 
on the Sea of Galilee; the ship in which he sails is in 
jeopardy : but he rises and says, " Peace, be still," and 
there is a great calm. Though poor, he feeds thousands; 
and a fish brings him money in its mouth, to enable him 
to pay tribute. The rabble mob of his enemies come to 
take him ; he speaks, and they suddenly fall back. When 
nailed to the cross, all nature sympathizes with him ; the 
heavens are dark, the veil of the temple is rent, the earth 
quakes, and the graves open ; and as he dies, he gives life 
to the penitent thief, and admits him to paradise. So in 
the instance before us, "as he prayed, the fashion of his 
countenance was changed ;" while humbled, he is exalted ; 
and the suppliant appears in the majesty of God. 

" He was transfigured before them." He was changed. 
The word used may indicate either a change of substance 
or of appearance. Probably the latter chiefly is intended 
here. The whole appearance of Christ was suddenly and 
singularly changed ; he had been in the form of a servant, 
but he now appears in the form of God. " The fashion 



OX THE MOUNT, WHERE HE WISHED TO REMAIN. 133 

of Ms countenance was altered." And the alteration con- 
sisted in this, — that his face did " shine as the sun/*' His 
raiment, also, became " exceeding white," white as snow, 
white as the light, " glistering," dazzling as the vivid 
lightning, cc so as no fuller on earth can white them." 
No garments had ever been whitened like these, or made 
to shine with so brilliant a lustre. 

" The indwelling Deity darted out its rays through the 
veil of his flesh ; and that with such transcendant splen- 
dour, that he no longer bore the form of a servant. His 
face shone with divine majesty, like the sun in its 
strength ; and all his body was so irradiated by it, that his 
clothes could not conceal its glory, but became white and 
glistening as the very light with which he covered himself 
as with a garment.'' 

In the further contemplation of this glorious scene, it 
maybe convenient to arrange our observations under these 
four particulars : — 

I. The probable design of this manifestation. 

II. The illustrious and heavenly visitors. 

III. The subject of their conversation. 
IY. The effect of the whole on Peter. 

As to the probable design of the transfiguration, we 
think it is chiefly to be viewed in the light of a solemn 
inauguration of Christ as the supreme Lawgiver and 
Teacher in the evangelical dispensation. Moses and 
Elias may be regarded as sustaining a representative cha- 
racter ; the former representing the Law, and the latter the 



134 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

Prophets. They appear on this occasion, that they may 
vacate their offices in favour of Christ, and merge their 
authority in his. They speak with him, yield up to him, 
then disappear. Christ only remains. His authority 
and teaching supersede all that have preceded. The Law 
and the Prophets looked forward to him, and, having now 
received their fulfilment in him, they pass away in the 
persons of Moses and Elias. And now that they are 
gone, our attention is to be fixed exclusively upon him, 
and our service given to him. A voice is heard from the 
cloud, saying, " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am 
well pleased; hear ye him/' "Hear him:" he is the 
great Teacher sent from God: in him are hid all the 
treasures of wisdom and knowledge ; the Spirit is not 
given by measure to him ; the fulness of the Godhead 
dwells in him bodily. He is competent to reveal the will 
of God to man, and infallibly to interpret and apply both 
the Law and the Prophets. "Hear him;" he speaks 
with perfect wisdom, and with divine authority. His 
doctrine is true, and his precepts are binding. He makes 
every thing that belongs to our peace and salvation plain. 
He removes the obscurity and supplies the deficiency of 
all former revelations. " God, who at sundry times and 
in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by 
the Prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by 
his Son." And by the superiority of the Son of God, in 
point of excellence, dignity, and glory, over Moses and the 
Prophets, we are bound to hear him with a degree of 



ON TEE MOUNT, WHERE HE WISHED TO REMAIN. 135 

attention, reverence, and lowly submission, to which no 
creature, however gifted, is entitled. " Hear him/ 3 there- 
fore : " For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, 
and every transgression and disobedience received a just 
recompence of reward ; how shall we escape, if we neglect 
so great salvation ; which at the first began to be spoken 
by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard 
him?" In him is fulfilled the divine promise : " A Pro- 
phet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your 
brethren, like unto me ; him shall ye hear in all things 
whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to 
pass, that every sold which will not hear that Prophet 
shall be destroyed from among the people." " Hear him, 
and your souls shall live." " Hear him." Moralists, phi- 
losophers, and political economists may propose their sys- 
tems : ecclesiastics may gather in council, deliberate, 
and draw up their judgment : but the God who made 
us, and before whose bar we must be judged, calls us 
away from all forms of human utterance, counsel, and 
decision, to his own beloved Son, and says, " Hear him." 
In so far as others echo the sayings of the Son of God, 
well ; we ought to hear them : but whoever may be the 
speaker whose sentiments disagree with those of Christ, turn 
away from him ; close your ears ; give him no attention. 

There are, indeed, many things of which Christ does not 
speak to us at all, — things of art, of science, of politics, 
and of human law. If you would know these, and under- 
stand them, listen to the philosopher, the politician, or 



136 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

the lawyer. Listen with the degree of respectful attention 
which the importance and interest of the subject, on the 
one hand, and the learning, ability, and office of the 
speaker, on the other, may be entitled to receive. While he 
keeps within his province, " hear him :" but if he shall travel 
beyond, and bring his politics, science, or law, into colli- 
sion with the sayings of Christ, then hear Christ, and not 
him. Let Christ be true, if every man should be a liar. 
He speaks unerringly, — speaks the whole counsel of God, 
— speaks with divine authority, from which there is no 
appeal . ' ' Hear h im . ' ' 

Thus to concentrate and fix the attention of mankind 
upon Christ, as the supreme Lawgiver and Teacher of the 
evangelical dispensation, he was now solemnly and glo- 
riously inaugurated. This we consider to have been the 
primary design of this glorious manifestation, but by no 
means the only one. It shows us the harmony of all pre- 
vious dispensations with that of Christ. The great facts 
of human duty and salvation were the same, whether 
revealed under the patriarchal, Mosaic, or prophetic dis- 
pensations, as those now to be revealed more fully by the 
teaching of the Son of God. 

The Law and the Prophets, whilst subserving the 
purposes of the present time, were full of Christ, and 
could only receive their complete accomplishment in him. 
And now that Moses and Elias, as their representatives, 
are in company with Christ on the Holy Mount, they all 
three find a common subject of conversation. There were, 



ON THE MOUNT, WHERE HE WISHED TO REMAIN. 137 

no doubt, differences in the mode of statement employed 
by Moses and Elias, and tbe information they respectively 
conveyed was varied in degree; but the truth was the 
same, as delivered by both. Ceremonies and sacrifices 
were employed by the one ; symbols and dark sayings of 
old by the other ; but both exhibited to the faith of 
former times the coming and work of the Saviour. And 
now that the time for such exhibition is past, — now 
that Christ himself is come, — Moses and Elias meet him 
on the Holy Mount, and, having conversed with him for a 
while, they pass away. Misty daybreak and the light of 
the morning are followed by the fulness and brightness of 
noon. 

This brilliant scene may also be considered as intended 
to fortify the minds of the disciples against the trials 
which awaited them, by showing them the reality of a 
future state, together with its glory and blessedness. Two 
of the illustrious saints of God, who had long since been 
removed from earth, return for a season, and appear in 
glory. Well might St. Peter afterwards say, referring to 
this scene, "We have not followed cunningly devised 
fables." 

May we not also take the transfiguration of Christ as 
furnishing an emblem of human nature in its glorified 
state? The Christian hope is, that we shall all be 
changed, — " that when he shall appear, we shall be like 
him;' 5 for, at his coming, he will "change our vile body, 
that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body." 



138 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

We may not speculate on the properties of that " glorious 
body;' 3 but we are sure that it will be no more character- 
ized by imperfection, deformity, or liability to decay, — it 
will no more be susceptible of weariness or pain, — it will 
no more be as a drag upon the sold, impeding its pro- 
gress, and limiting the range of its loftiest powers. 
Spiritual, perfect, beautiful, and immortal, that body will 
be a glorious vehicle for the beatified spirit. 

"Behold, there talked with him two men, which were 
Moses and Elias, who appeared in glory." Observe the 
particularity of this account. They were two men, — they 
were Moses and FJias, — they appeared in glory, — they 
were talking with Jesus. In the world to come, men are 
made " as the angels of God;" but they do not cease to 
be men. They mingle with the angelic host in the wor- 
ship and service of God : they gaze upon the same glo- 
rious manifestations of the Deity, and share in that fulness 
of joy which is in his presence, and in those pleasures for 
evermore which are at his right hand. But though 
exalted to the companionship of angels, and with them 
made happy and glorious, they do not cease to be men. 
Heaven is inhabited by angels, and by men; the high 
praises of God are chanted by angels, and by men. 
Human nature, though changed, perfected, and immor- 
talized, abidetlifor ever. 

But not only does human nature abide, but personal 
identity is also retained in heaven. These two men were 
Hoses and Elias. They are not simply two glorified men ; 



ON THE MOUNT, WHSEE HE WISHED TO REMAIN. 139 

but the one is recognised as Moses, the Lawgiver of the 
Jews, and the other as Elias, the famous Prophet. We 
do not now inquire by what means the disciples learned 
that these two were Moses and Elias, — whether by 
some species of intuition, such as we may well suppose 
glorified spirits to possess ; or whether they gathered the 
names of the illustrious men from the conversation which 
took place ; or whether they were directly informed who 
these men were : all this is immaterial to us. We are 
content to know that these two men were Moses and 
Elias ; that, however long they have been absent from 
earth, and whatever change may have passed upon them, 
they are Moses and Elias still. 

Xor is this the only passage from which we learn that 
personal identity is retained in heaven. It is obviously 
implied in a certain representation of the happiness and 
glory of the heavenly world, which our Kedeemer fre- 
quently made use of. The saved of the Lord, he tells 
us, " shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, 
in the kingdom of God." Now, the happiness arising out 
of this association, and our sense of the honour implied in 
it, depend upon our being able to identify these three as 
the illustrious saints and servants of God known by the 
names of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. For example : 
promise us that we shall have the honour and happiness 
of sitting down with our beloved Queen, and then simply 
introduce us to the presence of an amiable, intelligent, 
beautiful, and accomplished lady; and, we ask, will our 



140 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

expectations be realized? will the promise have been 
fulfilled? No. It is essential that the lady be known as 
the Queen, in order to our appreciation of the honour 
conferred. 

It would be altogether out of place here, were we to 
attempt to deal with the purely metaphysical question, 
"TVhat constitutes personal identity?" But, whatever 
that is, the facts of the case before us clearly show, that 
it is wholly independent of our physical organization, — 
survives death, — and is not interfered with by the glorious 
transformation through which both body and soul must 
pass, before the individual saint is made perfect in the 
blessedness of heaven. 

The principle which thinks and feels is distinct from 
the body with which it is associated. This principle is 
mind. According to the language of every- day life, the 
mind is the individual. He says, " My hands, my eyes, 
my feet ;" " These hands, and eyes, and feet belong to me." 
It was in this way that Socrates spoke to his friends, 
just before he drank the poison, to which he had been 
condemned by the Athenian Judges. " How would you 
be buried ?" said his friend. " Just as you please," said 
Socrates, " if you can but catch me, and I do not elude 
your pursuit. He thinks that / am he whom he shall 
shortly see dead; and he asks, how I would be buried? 
I have asserted, that, after I have drunk the poison, I 
shall no longer remain with you, but shall depart to 
certain felicities of the blessed" 



ON THE MOUNT, WHERE HE WISHED TO REMAIN. 141 

This thinking principle, — this self, — is independent of 
the body; so that its individuality "would be as little 
destroyed, though every particle of the body were com- 
pletely changed, as the individuality of the body itself 
would be destroyed by a change of the mere garments 
that invest it. The maimer in which the mind is united 
to a system of particles which are in a perpetual state 
of flux, is, indeed, more than we can ever hope to be able 
to explain ; though it is really not more inexplicable than 
its union to such a system of particles would be, though 
they were to continue for ever unchanged. 

"We may remark, however, by the way, that though the 
constant state of flux of the corporeal particles furnishes 
no argument agahist the identity of the principle which 
feels and thinks, — if feeling and thought be states of a 
substance that is essentially distinct from these changing 
particles, — the unity and identity of this principle, amid 
all the corpuscular changes, furnish a very strong argu- 
ment in disproof of those systems which consider thought 
and feeling as the result of material organization."* 

We are conscious of being the same hi dividual s now, 
as we were a month or a year ago, or at any other period 
of time as far back as our memory will go. And yet it is 
an undoubted fact, that the matter of which the body is 
composed is undergoing constant change; and that, in 
the course of a very few years, its entire amount is 

Dr. Brown. 



142 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

removed. T\~e have not the same body for any two 
minutes together during the entire period of life ; we are, 
nevertheless, the same individuals. 

Now, with regard to Moses, he had been dead some 
fourteen hundred years. His body was buried in the 
land of Moab. His death was, indeed, peculiar ; but it 
was a separation of the soul and body. The soul returned 
to God, and the body was buried in a valley over against 
Beth-peor. We have no evidence whatever that the body 
of Moses was raised. It is a mere gratuitous assumption 
to suppose that it was so. Nor was the resurrection of 
the body of Moses necessary. Moses, and the body of 
Moses, are two distinct things. Moses appears in glory ; 
though, for aught we know to the contrary, the body of 
Moses has, ages ago, been resolved into its primitive 
earth ; and the various particles of which it was composed 
have been endlessly and inconceivably transmuted through 
vegetable and animal nature. The gathering and uniting 
together of these particles, their re-construction into the 
body of Moses, on the morning of the resurrection, sur- 
passes all our thought, and is only possible to the Omni- 
potent. But, while we cannot possibly understand, we 
wonder and adore ; and, believing, say with Job, " I know 
that my Bedeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the 
latter day upon the earth; and though after my skin 
worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God : 
whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, 
and not another ; though my reins be consumed within me." 



ON THE MOUNT, WHERE HE WISHED TO EEMAIN. 143 

We may be asked whether departed spirits are, in any 
sense, embodied, between the period of death and the 
resurrection. We answer, Probably they are, in the 
sense of being possessed of some ethereal vehicle, the 
nature of which we cannot now comprehend. We think 
this position could be both philosophically and scrip- 
turally maintained ; but it is not necessaiy now. All that 
we are at present concerned to show is, that, whatever 
that is which is essential to personal identity, it is wholly 
independent of our physical organization; and we cite 
this appearance of Moses on the Holy Mount as the illus- 
tration and example. 

We have spoken of personal identity as surviving 
death ; but it may be thought that this example of Moses 
is scarcely sufficient to sustain this position, inasmuch as 
it can be shown that probably the death of Moses was 
altogether peculiar. Now, we can easily admit that 
peculiarity : we can allow the utmost, and say that Moses 
died after a manner unique; that he died, as a Jewish 
Eabbi would say, "by a kiss of the Word of the Lord." 
The death, however, was real ; the soul was actually sepa- 
rated from the body ; and Moses lived after death. 

But the history before us carries us one step farther in 
this line of thought : it shows us that personal identity is 
neither interfered with, nor destroyed, in the glorious 
change which passes upon both body and soul when the 
individual saint is perfected in the blessedness of heaven. 
St. Paul, in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, dis- 

L 



144 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

courses at large, and most eloquently, on the necessity of 
this change. He commences by affirming, that "flesh 
and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither 
doth corruption inherit incorruption ; " and then, refer- 
ring to the case of those who shall be alive on the earth 
at the time of Christ's coming, he tells us that, although 
they shall not die, they " shall all be changed, in a 
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump." 
Their bodies will be so changed as to become spiritual, 
like the bodies of those who shall be raised from the dead. 
But, after this change, whatever the nature and extent of 
it, the subjects of it will be the same individuals as before 
it 'took place. In support of this position, we take the 
example of Elias, who now appeared on the mountain 
with Christ. This change had passed upon him when he 
was taken up to heaven, some eight hundred years before, 
in a chariot of fire. Only the soul of Moses went to hea- 
ven, and was glorified; but both the body and soul of 
Elijah were translated and glorified together. But his 
personal identity was unaffected by the change : he is 
Elijah still, and appears in glory. 

We may not farther enlarge upon these deeply interest- 
ing topics, and will therefore only say, that the appear- 
ance of these two illustrious and glorified men upon the 
Mount of Transfiguration is in evidence of two things : 
first, that departed saints are immediately in glory ; that 
no unconscious interval, no long period of sleep, inter- 
venes between death and the resurrection mom ; but that 



OX THE MOUNT, WHEBE HE WISHED TO REMAIN. 145 

to be absent from the body is to be present with the 
Lord : secondly, that, as personal identity is retained in 
heaven, we have the strongest reason to believe that the 
saints hereafter, though inconceivably changed and glori- 
fied, will still be able to know each other in the skies. 

Cease we now to look upon these men from heaven, 
and let ns listen to what they say. The subject of their 
conversation is given by St. Luke : " They spake of His 
decease, which He should accomplish at Jerusalem." 
This was not a new subject to any one of them. The 
sacrifices offered under the Law of Moses, and more parti- 
cularly that of the paschal lamb, were typical of that one 
Divine Sacrifice which should be offered, in the fulness ot 
time, for the sins of the world : they were to receive their 
fulfilment in that very decease of which they are now con- 
versing. The Prophets, who were represented by Elias, 
spake of Christ. Indeed, "the testimony of Jesus is the 
spirit of prophecy." "To liim give all the Prophets wit- 
ness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him 
shall receive remission of sins." Messiah, of whose 
coming all the prophecies are full, was to be cut off for 
the sins of the people, to be " wounded for their transgres- 
sions, and bruised for their iniquities." 

And as to the Saviour hhnself, he had contemplated 
his decease from the beginning. Tor that he had come 
into the world. He lived with men that he might die for 
them. This event was ever in his mind. He often con- 
versed about it with his disciples, though they were slow 

L 2 



146 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

of heart to understand. They shrank from the disclosure 
of his sufferings and death. Shortly before this very 
scene was witnessed on Mount Tabor, Christ had told his 
disciples " that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many 
things of the Elders and Chief Priests and scribes, and 
be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter 
took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far 
from thee, Lord : this shall not be unto thee." But so 
important did he know that death to be for the life of the 
world, so absolutely necessary, that he turned on Peter, 
and said, "Get thee behind me, Satan : thou art an offence 
unto me : for thou savourest not the things that be of 
God, but those that be of men." The great design he 
had in view was to accomplish this decease at Jerusalem ; 
and he therefore calls Peter, who sought to persuade him 
not to suffer thus, "an offence;" literally, a stumbling- 
block, an impediment, in his way. 

The subject which was thus unwelcome to the disciples 
was differently regarded on the Mount by Moses and 
Elias. They understood it better, knew its design, and 
something of the glory that should follow ; and they con- 
versed with Christ about it. 

"They spake of his decease." There is a peculiarity 
in this expression, as applied to the death of Christ. The 
word means exit, or going out, and is used by St. Peter 
when alluding to his own death : " Moreover, I will endea- 
vour that ye may be able after my decease to have these 
things always in remembrance." Death is a departure 



ON THE MOUNT, WHEEE HE WISHED TO REMAIN. 147 

or going out from this life. There may possibly be an 
allusion to the exodus or departure of the children of 
Israel from Egypt. They went out from bondage and 
humiliation; so Jesus is now about to go out of the 
scene of his humiliation and pain. 

" They spake of his decease which he should accom- 
plish ; " not of the death he should die, but the decease 
he should accomplish. The death of Christ was voluntary : 
" Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down 
my life that I might take it again. No man taketh it 
from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to 
lay it down, and I have power to take it again." TVhen 
Peter drew his sword in the garden, to defend his Master 
from the rabble who had come to apprehend him, he said, 
" Thinkest thou that I camiot now pray to my Father, 
and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions 
of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be ful- 
filled, that thus it must be ? " As he hung on the cross, 
he was taunted with these words : " He saved others ; 
himself he cannot save :" — a great truth, and a great lie. 
" He saved others," — what a glorious truth ! " Himself 
he cannot save." yes, he can; but he will not. 
" Himself he cannot save." No ; but it is his love that 
hinders, and not the want of power. 

On no other occasion did two glorified men ever con- 
verse in the hearing of mortals. All the more interest is 
therefore attached to the subject of their conversation. 
And we may be excused if we take their choice of a sub- 



148 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

ject, in the present instance, as justifying the transcendant 
importance which we attach to the death of Christ, and 
the prominence we give it in onr pnlpit ministrations. 

Around the cross upon which this decease was accom- 
plished, are gathered onr faith, affections, and hope. We 
were guilty and condemned; but he took the hand- 
writing of ordinances which was against ns, and nailed it 
to his cross. We were, because of sin, adjudged to die ; 
but he died for us, " the just for the unjust, that he 
might bring us to God." His death was our life. 
Through the rent veil of his flesh we pass into the holiest, 
and on to the sky. Well may this decease therefore be 
the theme of our converse, as it is the foundation of our 
hope. Well may we talk of it, since it was interesting 
and important enough to engage the attention of Moses 
and Elias, and to form the subject of their conversation 
amid the divine glories of this marvellous scene. There 
are other themes, indeed, on which we may lawfully 
converse, and in conversing upon which our minds are 
exhilarated, our hearts improved, and our happiness pro- 
moted. But this is the grandest theme of all. 

We may, from some lofty summit, gaze with enchanted 
feeling upon the beautiful and magnificent scenery of 
nature, and find a subject of the most agreeable and 
improving conversation. Or, traversing the fields of 
science, we may find at every step some new cause of 
wonder and of admiration ; and in the laws and elements 
of nature, as exhibited in the interesting, beautiful, and 



ON THE MOUNT, WHEBE HE WISHED TO REMAIN. 149 

mysterious processes which are constantly going on around 
us, we shall not fail of a subject worthy the converse of 
the best and most gifted of men. Or, if our steps are 
directed towards the province of art, we shall find, in the 
results of the taste, ingenuity, skill, and power of man, a 
thousand themes for profitable and pleasant conversation. 
But there is a subject more important than them all, a 
theme of loftier interest, and of more blissful and ennobling 
influence, both upon the character and condition, the 
intellect and destinies, of man, — the decease which was 
accomplished at Jerusalem. In that event there was the 
most complete and glorious unfolding of the moral cha- 
racter of God, and the principles of his administration. 
There was a splendid triumph over the subtilty, malignity, 
and power of the first and great disturber of the universe ; 
there was laid a foundation for the hopes of a ruined 
race ; and there were supplied the means of effectually 
securing happiness, honour, immortality, and eternal life 
to the millions of mankind. "VYe would under-estimate 
nothing, whether good or evil. We would give all due 
importance to the affairs of earth. But we are called to 
listen to those glorified men ; and " they speak of His 
decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem." Pro- 
digious movements are taking place, vast political changes 
are sweeping over the nations, ancient dynasties are 
breaking up, thrones are tottering, and the time for 
shaking the heavens and the earth is come ; but we speak 
not of these: we speak of the decease accomplished at 



150 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

Jerusalem. This is the study of angelic minds, and will 
be the burden of an endless song around the throne of 
God in heaven. 

Hitherto we have been so absorbed in the contempla- 
tion of this wonderful scene, that we have hardly found 
an opportunity of saying a single word about Peter; 
indeed, we had almost forgotten him. But we will now 
give our veiy best attention to what he has to say, with a 
view to ascertaining what was the effect produced upon 
him by what he had seen and heard. 

He speaks like one who is somewhat confused, and as 
if overpowered by peculiar emotions, which he must 
express in order to relieve himself. He has not yet had 
time to arrange his thoughts ; and, consequently, what he 
says is neither remarkable for wisdom, nor for appropriate- 
ness to the occasion. Perhaps we. need not be surprised 
at this ; for the fact is, that he and his fellow-disciples had 
been asleep. They appear to have been so at the time 
when Moses and Elias came, and Christ assumed this 
glorious appearance. They were suddenly awakened by 
the conversation and the resplendent light ; opening their 
ears, they heard strange voices, and, opening their eyes, 
they were dazzled with the preternatural brightness. 
They listened and looked with delighted surprise. They 
were thrilled with ineffable joy, and spell-bound by the 
wonders around them. 

The order of the narrative is probably this, — that Moses 
and Elias, having ended their conversation with Christ, 



ON THE MOUNT, WHERE HE WISHED TO REMAIN. 151 

were about to retire ; and Peter, anxious to detain them, 
said, " Master, it is good for us to be here : and let us 
make three tabernacles ; one for thee, one for Moses, and 
one for Elias." It is not at all unlikely, that Peter had 
some vague apprehension that Christ was now about to 
set up that temporal kingdom, to the notion of which the 
disciples so fondly clung ; and that Moses and Elias were 
come on this business. He proposed, therefore, to pro- 
vide for their temporary accommodation by the erection 
of tabernacles. These were tents or booths, made 
either by fixing posts into the ground, and stretching 
cloth upon them, fastened by cords; or out of the 
branches of trees, as at the Feast of Tabernacles. They 
afforded temporary shelter from the sim and rain, and 
were not intended as permanent dwellings. Peter pro- 
posed to make such a provision for Moses, Elias, and 
Christ, until their arrangements were completed, and the 
tent should be exchanged for the palace. 

"Whether the proposal was made under the influence of 
any such consideration as this, or merely under the 
impulse of the moment, it was not one likely to be 
adopted. Could Peter suppose it probable that Moses and 
Elias, who had dwelt in the glory of heaven for these hun- 
dreds of years, woidd be willing to dwell in such rude 
tents as they were able to construct ? Tabernacles might, 
indeed, do very well for fishermen of Galilee ; and even 
the Son of Man, who sometimes had not where to lay his 
head, might condescend to abide under their shelter for a 



152 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

season ; but Moses and Elias were inhabitants of heaven, 
and about to return thither again. 

Peter said this, because "he wist not what to say:" 
but, in that case, would it not have been better to have 
remained silent ? He spake, not knowing what he said. 
He would have acted more wisely by holding his peace. 
And yet we would not contemptuously dismiss what he 
said, as if it were unworthy of remark, and incapable of 
ministering to our instruction. It was faulty ; neverthe- 
less, there was something good in it. It shows us that 
his heart was right, though his head was wrong ; his feel- 
ing did him credit, though his judgment was in error. 
" Master, it is good to be here." Well might he say so. 
The communion of saints is blessed ; and how much more 
must communion with glorified saints have been! but, 
above all, to be associated with these glorified saints in 
the presence of glorified Christ ! No wonder that Peter 
was in ecstasy, and wished to prolong the rapturous joy. 
He knew not what to say, but he felt as he never had 
felt before. 

" Lord, it is good to be here ; 

And here we would always abide." 

But what made it so good to be there ? The answer is, 
— Communion with Christ, and these glorified men. Apart 
from this, there was nothing either in the place or the 
time to be desired. They were in the solitude of a 
mountain-top ; in the darkness of night ; asleep on the 



ON THE MOUNT, WHEKE HE WISHED TO REMAIN. 153 

bare ground, and, probably, unprotected from the copious 
dews of Palestine. Travellers who have spent the night 
on Mount Tabor, tell us that their tents were as wet with 
the dew as if it had rained all night. Yet Peter, roused 
from his sleep on this earthy bed, says, " Lord, it is good 
to be here." Light from heaven was shining, voices from 
heaven were heard, the joys of heaven were felt ; and 
these tit lugs constrained him to say, " Lord, it is good to 
be here." 

Is there not something analogous to this in the expe- 
rience of Christians now ? Is not the feeling of Peter 
often realized in circumstances cheerless and sad ? On 
the bed of affliction; in the humble cottage where 
poverty and sickness abide ; at the bottom of the mine ; 
far off on the sea ; in the dismal cell where the prisoner 
for Christ is suffering; how often are the same words 
uttered, "Lord, it is good to be here!" "But," some 
may be ready to ask, "how is this? TYe can understand 
it in the case of Peter. If it had been our lot to be 
with him on Mount Tabor, we shoidd probably have felt 
as he did. But in the circumstances just named, it is 
incomprehensible." Incomprehensible it may be, but 
nevertheless true. 

" The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit 
of God : for they are foolishness unto him ; neither can 
he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 
To such an one it were hopeless to attempt explaining the 
paradox, " sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing." And yet we 



154 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

will tell him how it is, and pray God to give him " under- 
standing." The Kedeemer's gracious promise to them 
that love him is this : " He that loveth me shall be loved 
of my Father; and I will love him, and will manifest 
myself to him." The disciple to whom these words were 
spoken, could not apprehend their meaning, and inquired, 
" Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, 
and not unto the world ? Jesus answered and said unto 
him, If a man love me, he will keep my words ; and my 
Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and 
make our abode with him." Again he says, " If any 
man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to 
him, and sup with him, and he with me." 

In the gracious fulfilment of these words we have the 
sweetest and most enviable cause to say, " Master, it is 
good to be here." it is pleasant to enjoy this manifes- 
tation of Christ, and to hold communion with him ! The 
privilege is only inferior to that of seeing his face in the 
kingdom of heaven. 

" His presence makes our paradise ; 
And where he is, is heaven," 

There are many who, not being able to understand 
this, take the liberty of denying it altogether, or of speak- 
ing of it in the most contemptuous terms. With them 
the persons who profess such things are mere enthusiasts, 
persons of weak minds, who mistake their high-wrought 
feelings, and the workings of an excited imagination, for 
things spiritual and divine. Well, even if it were so, 



ON THE MOUNT, WHERE HE WISHED TO REMAIN. 155 

what satisfactory reason can be given for breaking np 
the pleasant mistake ? What harm is there in the happy 
delusion ? There is confessedly a very great deal of 
trouble and sorrow in the world ; and if help and conso- 
lation can be innocently come by, why not allow it? 
When it is found that the suffering Christian, in his 
enthusiasm, is so fully conscious of the Saviour's pre- 
sence, feels so certain that he is in the enjoyment of 
spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, and is so 
persuaded in his own mind that he is at the gate of 
heaven, as to be able, in spite of poverty, weakness, pain, 
and the near approach of death itself, to say, " Lord, it is 
good to be here," — why should you disturb him ? Is it 
kind to deprive him of this rich consolation ? If, indeed, 
this enthusiasm operated to the injury of his general cha- 
racter, damaged his powers of intellect or of heart, indis- 
posed him to duty or unfitted him for it, made him in 
any sense a worse friend, relation, or citizen, — then it 
would be right to undeceive him, to break up his illu- 
sion. But the contrary of all this is true. His Chris- 
tianity improves Mm in eveiy one of these respects, and 
gives him, over and above, in his own soul, a foretaste 
of heaven, in the " joy that is unspeakable, and full of 
glory. 55 

Eut there is no mistake in this matter. ""We speak 
that we do know, and testify that we have seen. 55 We 
have received, " not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit 
which is of God ; that we might know the things that are 



156 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEK. 

freely given to us of God." We feel ourselves in a posi- 
tion to warrant the employment of St. Peter's own words, 
when we speak of the gracious manifestation of the 
Saviour's presence, of our communion with him, and of 
our actual reception of his benefits : " We have not 
followed cunningly devised fables." 

This happy and hallowed communion with Christ is 
especially realized in the devotional exercises of the 
closet, in the social gatherings of Christian people, and in 
the public ordinances of the house of God. It is no 
strange thing, blessed be God ! for Christian people to be 
so filled with the Spirit and love and joy of the Eedeemer, 
as to be constrained to say, " Master, it is good for us to 
be here." 

No doubt it was very good to be there; nevertheless, 
Peter was wrong in wishing to remain, and the proposal 
he made to that effect was very foolish. He had now a 
glimpse of glory to cheer him; but that glimpse was 
never designed to make a heaven of Mount Tabor. Bap- 
turous joy was given him for a while ; but that joy was 
not intended to excuse him from laborious service in his 
Master's cause. There was work to be done, trials to be 
endured, and battles to be fought; and he must, there- 
fore, come down from the Mount, and enter upon the 
task assigned him. No doubt it is very pleasant when a 
traveller, faint and weary, arrives at a green and fertile 
spot, sits down to refresh himself, and drinks of the cool- 
ing brook. He may say, " It is good to be here." So 



ON THE MOUNT, WHERE HE WISHED TO REMAIN. 157 

it is. But there is another place to be reached ; and if 
you remain here, you will never accomplish the journey 
which you have undertaken. 

" It is good to be here :" so it is ; but there is work 
to be done, important work, — work for Christ. His 
truth has to be distributed ; his enemies overcome ; his 
kingdom to be established. You have resources of talent, 
influence, property : all must be actively employed for 
him. The darkness which now rests upon the world, the 
darkness in which men go astray, and stumble into woe, 
this darkness must all be dispersed by you, who are " the 
light of the world." Men are dying around you: go and 
proclaim his truth, and dispense his grace, and thus heal 
the sick and save the dying. His sheep are scattered on the 
mountains : nor home nor shepherd have they : go seek 
the wandering flock, and bring them to the fold. A 
moral waste is around you, and stretches far away beyond 
the range of your vision, a waste where only things rank, 
unsightly, and unwholesome grow : go work in it : extir- 
pate the useless and pernicious growths ; sow the good 
seed of the kingdom ; plant trees of righteousness ; work 
till the whole scene is changed, till the wilderness 
becomes a fruitful field, and the desert rejoices and blos- 
soms as the rose. 

The Prince of darkness has usurped the kingdom ; he 
rules over the children of men ; he leads them captive at 
his pleasure ; he hurries to hell with his prey. The prey 
must be taken from the spoiler; the captive redeemed 



158 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

from the mighty; and the dark usurper driven back to 
his own hell. 

It is good to be with Christ on the Mount ; but we 
cannot remain there : nor should we wish to remain, 
while a world is dying below. We must labour for 
Christ, and suffer for him, till he say, "It is enough, 
come up hither." 

" Ah ! well might the raptured disciple exclaim, 
Who saw his loved Master appear, 
Transfigured and robed in ethereal flame, 
' It is good for us, Lord, to be here.' 

" And when on the Mount of communion divine 
Our souls to the Saviour draw near, 
We, too, in the spirit and sentiment join, 
* It is good for us, Lord, to be here.' 

" yes, and the Christian, whatever his lot, 
While reading his evidence clear, — 
The mount or the valley, the mansion or cot, — 
Can say, f It is good to be here.' 

" By sorrow, afflictions, and troubles beset, 
Temptations and trials severe, 
The language of faith and of hope will be yet, 
1 Lord, it is good to be here.' " 



SCENE VI. 

ASLEEP IX GETHSEATAXE WHILE HIS MASTER PRAYS. 

" Then coineth Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, 
and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray 
yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of 
Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then 
saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto 
death : tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little 
farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, my Rather, 
if it be possible, let this cup pass from me : nevertheless not as 
I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and 
findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, YVhat, could ye not 
watch with me one hour ? Watch and pray, that ye enter not 
into temptation : the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is 
weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, say- 
ing, my Rather, if this cup may not pass away from me, 
except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them 
asleep again: for their eyes were heavy." — Matt. xxvi. 36-43. 

What a contrast does this scene present to the one 
which last engaged onr attention! That was on the 
mountain, this is in the valley. In that the Eedeemer 
was seen in his glory ; in this he is overwhelmed with 
anguish, and casts himself on his face on the ground. 
Then his face shone as the sun in his strength, and his 
raiment was exceeding white and glistering as the light ; but 
now, being in an agony, he sweats, as it were, great drops of 
blood, falling down to the ground. On that occasion, 

M 



160 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

Moses and Elias were with him in glory ; but on this, the 
powers of darkness surround and afflict him. Then he 
and his illustrious visitants conversed about "his decease 
which he should acconrplish at Jerusalem ; " but now he 
pours out prayer with strong crying and tears unto Him 
who was able to save him. 

There is a peculiar and affecting interest attached to 
eveiy thing which occurred on this memorable evening, — 
the last evening of the Saviour's life. It was spent 
chiefly in the company of his twelve Apostles. He ate 
the Passover with them in an upper room at Jerusalem, 
and immediately afterward instituted the Christian sacra- 
ment of the Lord's supper. Having done this, he then 
offered up the prayer recorded in John xvii., and closed 
the deeply -interesting sendee in the upper room with the 
singing of a hymn. This hymn was probably the con- 
cluding part of that called the Hallel, or " Hymn of the 
Five Psalms," usually sung at the feast of the Paschal 
Lamb. The five Psalms were Psalms cxiii. to cxviii. 
inclusive. Two of these were sung during the feast, and 
the other three at the close. This hymn having been 
sung by our Lord and his Apostles, they left the upper 
room, and proceeded toward the Mount of Olives. This 
Mount is situated on the east of Jerusalem, about a mile 
from the city, and separated from it by the valley of Jeho- 
shaphat. The brook Kedron runs along the bed of 
this valley, and was crossed by our Saviour and his dis- 
ciples on their way to Gethsemane. The Garden of 



ASLEEP IN GETHSEMANE. 161 

Gethseniane lay between the brook Kedron and the foot of 
Mount Olivet. The spot now pointed out as the scene of 
the Kedeemer's agony is very quiet and secluded. It is 
adorned with some fine old olive trees, such as abounded 
in the days of Christ : and the Monks who have posses- 
sion of the place are continually planting more. Gene- 
rally, therefore, it looks now as it may have looked some 
eighteen hundred years ago. And although there is 
nothing particular to mark it as the veritable spot where 
the Saviour prayed, and where he so mysteriously suffered ; 
yet, as every thing connected with it corresponds exactly 
with all the circumstances of the sacred narrative, we have 
abundant reason to believe that it is so. 

To this retired spot, and the neighbourhood around it, 
Jesus frequently withdrew; sometimes alone, sometimes 
accompanied by his disciples. In the solitude of this 
glen he communed with God in prayer, and took the 
opportunity of more fully instructing his disciples in the 
doctrines of his kingdom, than he was able to do while 
surrounded with the multitudes who commonly attended 
on his ministry. As a favourite haunt of Christ, the 
Garden of Gethsemane was familiar to his disciples. " And 
Judas, also, which betrayed him, knew the place ; for 
Jesus ofttimes resorted thither." 

In the course of the walk from Jerusalem to Gethse- 
mane, a deeply -interesting conversation was kept up. In 
this conversation the Eedeemer spoke of his death as at 
hand ; telling his disciples that he should rise again, and 
m 2 



162 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

go before them into Galilee. He forewarned them of the 
trials which were approaching, and touchingly said, " All 
ye shall be offended because of me this night : for it is 
written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the 
flock shall be scattered abroad." 

In reply to this affectionate and faithful warning, Peter 
once more exhibits the impulsiveness of his nature. 
There can be no question that he was truly and strongly 
attached to Christ ; and he felt surprised and grieved, if 
not indignant, that he should be thought capable of for- 
saking or denying the Lord whom he loved. He said, 
therefore, promptly and with great warmth, "Though all 
shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be 
offended. Jesus said unto him, Verily, I say unto thee, 
that this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me 
thrice." Peter answered this with still greater earnest- 
ness of manner ; he spake the more vehemently, declaring 
that he was ready to go to prison with his Master ; and 
finished by saying, " If I should die with thee, I will not 
deny thee in any wise." No one doubted that poor Peter 
was sincere in all this. He spoke as he felt at the 
moment, and meant all he said ; but, as the sequel proved, 
he was over-confident : he trusted in himself, and failed 
in a melancholy manner. 

Shortly after arriving at Gethsemane, Christ took Peter 
and James and John apart from the other disciples, and 
retired with them into a still more secluded part of the 
Garden. The same three are thus chosen to be witnesses 



ASLEEP IN GETHSEMANE. 163 

of tlie agony of Christ, as they had previously beheld his 
glorious transfiguration. And while we would not curi- 
ously pry into things which are not revealed, we must 
suppose that there was some special reason for this selec- 
tion : and may we venture to suggest, that perhaps only 
they who had seen Christ in his glory were qualified to 
endure the sight of his anguish ? But for what purpose 
did Christ take these three with him? The answer is, 
that they might " watch" with him. The word rendered 
" watch," signifies to be wakeful — on the alert — guarded 
against danger. Probably it may also mean in this place, 
that these three were to sympathize with Christ. Suffer- 
ing and danger which would involve both him and them 
were at hand, and he calls them to a devout preparation ; 
he directs them to unite with him in seeking divine sup- 
port, that so they might be fortified against the coming 
trial. 

Having thus instructed them, he withdrew from them a 
short distance ; St. Luke says, " about a stone's cast ; and 
kneeled down," and fell on his face, "and prayed." It 
has been beautifully observed,* that it is not without 
instructive meaning to us, that the body of the disciples 
were kept at a distance, and even the favoured three who 
accompanied our Lord were oppressed with sleep, and 
witnessed not all the particulars which were afterwards 
very generally and briefly revealed, in order to their being 

* Richard Watson. 



164 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

recorded. Imagination may, indeed, be busy here; but 
imagination must be reined in by humility and sobriety ; 
for we are at a distance while our Lord prays and agonizes 
"yonder;" and as a veil is thrown over all but the pro- 
minent passages of this wondrous scene, human imagina- 
tion has no light to dispel the darkness, and probably 
always perverts where she pretends to discover. 

To some of our readers a caution like this will probably 
be unnecessary. A delicate sense of Christian propriety 
will confine them within the limits of the Evangelists' 
simple and touching account ; or an exquisitely sensitive 
nervous temperament will prevent them from attempting to 
do more than take a distant view of the mournful and mys- 
terious scene. In reading the Gospel narrative, they will 
receive a general impression of some fearful and inde- 
scribable agony as endured by Christ; but even if the 
wish to know more than appears on the surface of the 
record should arise, they will feel that they have not 
nerve enough to conduct a searching and minute examina- 
tion of the several terms employed. We will only say, 
that these terms are most emphatic; they are charged 
with a woful meaning, the measure of which it is impos- 
sible for us to ascertain. They imply that Christ was 
penetrated with anguish ; that he felt himself oppressed 
with a load which was insupportable ; and that the sensa- 
tion of grief and pain and conflict was so keen and over- 
powering, as to threaten the extinction of life. " My soul 
is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death." 



ASLEEP IN GETHSEMANE. 165 

But, full of meaning as these words are, they are not so 
expressive of the Eedeemer's agony as were his own 
actions in this hour of sorrow. Full many a time he had 
prayed in this place before ; but ! he never prayed as 
now. A mortal anguish wrung his supplications from 
him with strong crying and tears. He kneeled down to 
pray, but the strength of his emotions bowed him to the 
ground, and he lay prostrate on the damp cold earth. 
The solemn stillness of night in Gethsemane had never 
been disturbed by such sounds before. Man never suffered 
as Christ suffered now. man could not, and live. 

"The circumstance added by St. Luke, still more 
strongly than the language employed, powerfully emphatic 
as it is, marks the intenseness of Christ's inward struggle. 
In the human nature he derived strength from the ministry 
of an angel ; and then, ' being in an agony, he prayed more 
earnestly,' as though the strength thus imparted was but 
renewed strength to suffer, and f his sweat was as it were 
great drops of blood falling down to the ground.' Even 
if we adopt the opinion, that a mere comparison of the 
profuse and heavy sweat to clots of blood was intended, 
this itself, considering that there was no bodily exertion 
to produce it, and that the time was night, when the 
heat of the day had passed, could not have been produced 
but by the strongest conflict and commotion of spirit. 
But unless more was intended, it is difficult to conceive 
why clotted blood shoidd have been fixed upon as an 
illustration of the rolling down of great drops of sweat. 



166 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

It is certainly unusual, and, to any one who attempts to 
compare the one with the other, will appear inapt. It is 
not, however, necessary to suppose that this sweat was 
altogether a profusion of blood, which is the error some 
have fallen into on the other side. And though some 
heathen writers have been quoted by the critics who men- 
tion bloody sweats, and a modern instance or two of this, 
as the effect of the strong emotion of fear, has been given, 
all that can fairly be understood by these accounts is, 
that by a rupture of some of the finer blood-vessels in 
some parts of the body, the sweat became tinged, and, to 
a certain extent, bloody. This is probably what Galen 
means in the passage quoted by Dr. Mead : ' Contin- 
gere inter (him, poros ex multo ant fervido spirit u vsque 
adeo dilatari, id etlam exeat sanguis per eos, fiatque sudor 
sanguineus.' Tlmanus, too, in his History, having men- 
tioned an Italian gentleman thrown into great horror of a 
public execution, says, c Observatum, tarn indign/je mortis 
vehement i metu adeo concuss um animo cum fuisse, id san- 
guineum sudorem toto cor pore ftmdareV But whatever 
may be thought of these extraordinary cases, in the 
instance of our Lord, the most natural inference from the 
words of the Evangelist is, that his profuse and heavy 
perspiration was thus tinged with blood which had burst 
from the smaller vessels, so that ' his sweat was &o-*i, like 
great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 5 So 
that not only was the perspiration, but blood also, forced 
out by the conflict within. " 



ASLEEP IN GETHSEMANE. 167 

With respect to the cause or causes of this unparalleled 
agony of Christ, it is, perhaps, impossible for us to 
arrive at any thing beyond a probable conjecture. At 
the same time it may be observed, that some of those 
which have been assigned are so manifestly insufficient 
to account for the effect described, as to make it sur- 
prising that grave and learned men shoidd have enter- 
tained the thought of them for a moment. Others of 
them imply so much that is opposed to just and worthy 
views of the character and work of Christ, as to dispose 
us at once indignantly to dismiss them. The treachery 
of Judas ; the cowardice of his Apostles ; the ingratitude 
of the Jews ; the terrible calamities in which his death 
would involve his country; the fear of death; the vivid 
apprehension of the ignominy and torture which he was 
shortly to undergo ; the prospect of being forsaken on 
the cross by his Father ; the terrific onset of the powers 
of darkness, with a view to shake his constancy, and 
deter him from the redeeming work which he had under- 
taken : these, and other causes besides, have been assigned 
as accounting for the Saviour's anguish. But why should 
we attribute this excruciating suffering to any one cause 
exclusively ? Is it not more likely that there was a com- 
bination of causes at work ? and that there was a rush of 
feeling from every quarter ? His situation, his approach- 
ing death, the temptations of the enemy, the awful penalty 
due to sin, the justice of God arrayed against him as the 
sinner's substitute : may we not suppose that all these 



168 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

conspired together to produce the grief, terror, consterna- 
tion, and anguish of this awful hour ? 

But especially we must bear in mind his substitutional 
character. " Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried 
our sorrows :" "the chastisement of our peace was upon 
him," Before the infinite justice of God, he stood as in 
the sinner's place ; and suffered, " the just for the unjust, 
that he might bring us to God." The language of Holy 
Scripture warrants us in saying, that the heaviest of the 
Saviour's sufferings were directly inflicted by the hand of 
God. " Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him ; he hath 
put him to grief." In this one brief sentence is expressed 
the mysteiy of an infinite love, and of an inconceivable 
suffering. That bruising of the Redeemer's soul began 
in Gethsemane, and was consummated on the cross. Not 
the body only suffers for sin : the penalty is inflicted on 
the soul as well. The suffering of Christ in the Garden 
was in his soul; the body only suffered in the way of 
sympathy, being affected by the intense anguish of the 
mind. He was drinking now the cup of bitterness, — 
drinking it for us, — that we might drink the cup of life 
and salvation. 

This much concerning the Saviour's sufferings in 
Gethsemane ; let us now listen to his prayer. " my 
Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me." 
These words were repeated three times, — repeated with an 
intensity of fervour and desire which we cannot conceive. 
The supplication was urged, as we are informed in the 



ASLEEP IN GETHSEMANE. 169 

Epistle to the Hebrews, "with strong crying and tears." 
The Redeemer prayed for relief ; he prayed for a mitiga- 
tion of his anguish ; — he prayed that, if it were possible, 
if it might harmonize with the Divine Wisdom, if it were 
consistent with the appointment of God, if the design of 
his incarnation might be accomplished withont his drink- 
ing the dregs of this bitter cnp ; — he prayed that, in that 
case, the cnp might pass from him. 

But it is asked, Why, if he was divine as well as 
human, did he require to pray for this relief ? Why did 
not his divine nature sustain him in the hour of his trial ? 
The answer is, that, while he was truly human, and truly 
divine, " God with us," " God manifest in the flesh," the 
human nature was sustained in an ordinary way, and not 
by any immediate application of the sources of the divine. 
When the man Christ Jesus was hungry, he ate bread ; 
when he was thirsty, he drank ; and when he was wearied, 
he sat down to rest, or sought repose in sleep. So here ; 
when he is suffering in body and in mind, he takes pre- 
cisely the same course as all his suffering saints are called 
to take. He prays to God, in the time of his trial, for 
support and deliverance. In this also he has left us an 
example. Our refuge is in God. We appeal to bim in 
our time of need ; and our hope is, that he will listen to 
and answer our earnest and believing prayer. 

But it must be carefully observed, that while this 
prayer was earnestly and repeatedly offered up, there was, 
at the same time, the most perfect and cheerful acqui- 



170 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

essence in the divine will. " Nevertheless, not as I will, 
but as thou wilt." The good desired is plainly asked for, 
— asked for again and again ; but the earnest petitioner 
closes with the expression of entire and cordial submission 
to him to whom the petition is addressed : " Not as I 
will, but as thou wilt." This prayer to Mm "who was 
able to save him from death," was graciously heard ; as 
St. Paul, in writing to the Hebrews, distinctly affirms. 
And, in the narrative itself, we have evidence of the fact 
that jthe Saviour's prayer was answered. " There appeared 
an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him." 
He rose from the earth, and rejoined his disciples. He 
spoke to them with his usual calmness, and peacefully 
awaited the approach of his enemies. The dark hour was 
past ; his grief was assuaged ; the whirlwind was hushed, 
and mental quietude was restored. 

The behaviour of Christ in the Garden is replete with 
instruction and encouragement to his disciples, amidst all 
the circumstances of difficulty and distress in which they 
may be involved. They are here effectually taught, that 
it is their privilege " in every thing, by prayer and sup- 
plication, with thanksgiving, to make known their requests 
unto God;" and to do so in the assured confidence that 
he will graciously listen to the voice of their crying. In 
our prayers to God we are not limited to things that are 
spiritual. These are, indeed, of higher importance and 
value than things temporal, and may, therefore, be more 
frequently and earnestly prayed for ; but all things requi- 



ASLEEP IN GETHSEMANE. 171 

site and necessary, as well for the body as the soul, may 
be legitimately brought to the throne of grace. Food 
and raiment, home and Mends, health and life, may all 
be asked of God. Privation and pain, sickness, bereave- 
ment, and death, are all things from which human nature 
shrinks. Nor is that shrinking sinful. It is one of the 
instincts of our being, and we lawfully carry its expression 
to the throne of the Heavenly Grace. The God whose we 
are, and whom we serve, — the Father in heaven, who 
loves us with a father's love, — gTaciously permits his 
children to ask of him food to eat, and raiment to put on, 
and a home to dwell in. It is not wrong to desire, in 
prayer, that he would supply my need, relieve my pain, 
recover me from sickness, screen me from danger, prosper 
me in my worldly business, continue to me my friends, 
and deliver me from death. Xor will he chide me if I 
pray with, earnestness for these things, and repeat my 
prayer. Indeed, all prayer, for whatsoever good, should 
be earnest and importunate. The prayer that is not so, 
proceeds from one who either does not highly value that 
for which he prays, or is not very anxious to obtain it. 
And, in either case, it is not to be wondered at, if the 
thing desired is withheld for a season, or altogether 
denied. 

But while we thus maintain that every thing which 
concerns our personal safety or comfort may be earnestly 
and importunately prayed for, we must not overlook the 
indispensable condition, "Not as I will, but as thou wilt." 



172 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

There are reasons for this submission to the divine will in 
our case, which did not exist in the case of our divine 
Redeemer. He never sinned; but we are vile. Our 
many and aggravated sins testify against us ; they declare, 
with incontrovertible truth, that we are utterly unworthy 
to receive any one of the things for which we pray. We 
have no right — we can have no right — to any good ; all 
is forfeited, and for ever. And, even if this w T ere not so, 
there is another reason for our praying with submission 
such as our Lord expressed; and that is, w r e are not 
competent to judge whether the thing prayed for is 
really needed by us, or would be a good to us. We 
often mistake our own character, and the actual necessities 
of our particular position. It behoves us, therefore, to 
refer ourselves and our petition to the wisdom and the 
goodness of God. His knowledge is perfect ; and we are 
sure, that such is his love, that he w 7 ill certainly do the 
best thing possible for us. He has condescended to 
assure his people that he will withhold no good thing 
from them ; and we ought to be willing that he should 
be the judge as to whether this particular thing for which 
we are now praying is a good thing for us, — a good thing 
for us at present, and under existing circumstances. It 
is easy enough to see, that a thing may be good in itself, 
which yet would not be good for me, or not good for me 
at the present time. On all these accounts, nothing can 
be more seemly, or more necessary, or even advantageous, 
than such cheerful and complete resignation to the will 



ASLEEP IN GETHSEMAXE. 173 

of God, as is so instructively and affectingly exhibited in 
this example of Christ. 

These remarks apply chiefly to prayer for temporal 
things. There is an important difference between these, 
and things spiritual. The latter are absolutely and in 
every case essential. Without them, we are for ever 
undone. For example : we are guilty, and pardon is 
indispensable; we must either receive pardon, or suffer 
punishment. Again : we are unholy ; and must either 
be renewed in righteousness, or else be excluded from 
heaven. Mercy to pardon, and grace to renew, are thus 
essential; and, as such, it is our happiness to find that 
they are specifically and repeatedly promised. Provided, 
therefore, we pray for these in the way prescribed, our 
receiving them is divinely certain. It is not necessary, 
with respect to them, that there should be added, " Not 
as I will, but as thou wilt." The will of God is clearly 
expressed. The things are absolutely required, and 
unequivocally promised, and may therefore be most 
confidently asked. 

But in the case of things temporal, it is altogether 
different. The sickness under which I am now labouring 
was permitted for my benefit, or for the benefit of those 
around me ; and, perhaps, the end proposed could not be 
secured by the use of any other means. The loved one of 
my heart is apparently about to be taken away from me : 
and it is right enough that I should pray to be exempted 
from this bereavement. But perhaps I am in danger of 



174 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

idolatrously fixing my affections on this loved one ; and, 
to save me from idolatry, he or she is removed as with a 
stroke. I desire health, but perhaps sickness is better : 
friends, but perhaps I shall be weaned more effectually 
from earth to heaven, if they are taken away. I pray for 
life ; but possibly I am more fully prepared for death now 
than I shall be found hereafter, and it is better, therefore, 
to die. All things are known to Him with whom we 
have to do. He sees the end from the beginning. He 
knoweth whereof we are made. He is acquainted with 
every spring of thought and of feeling; and can deter- 
mine exactly what will be the influence of this or that 
circumstance upon our gracious principle. And all this 
perfect knowledge, on the part of Almighty God, is con- 
nected with the tenderest love; and I am thus assured 
that he will do, in answer to my prayer, what, on the 
whole, will be most for my advantage. With these facts 
before me, it would be manifestly foolish, not to say 
wicked, for me to urge my prayer in any other spirit than 
that which Christ displayed in this example : " Neverthe- 
less, not my will, but thy will, be done." 

We have a famous instance, in the case of ancient Israel, 
of the consequence of urging prayer in any other spirit 
than this. Their petition was peremptorily and importu- 
nately urged. They desired a King to reign over them, 
and to go out with them to battle ; they sought, in this 
respect, to be on an equal footing with the Pagan nations 
around them. Alas for them ! They occupied a much 



ASLEEP IN GETHSEMANE. 175 

superior position ; but they did not think so. God was 
their King ; and he told them that, by urging this prayer, 
they, in fact, rejected him. But nothing would satisfy 
them, — only a King. At length God gave them their 
desire. He listened to their urgent prayer; and sent 
them what they asked for. This, however, he did in his 
wrath. They had greatly offended him by this request ; 
and all the more so, as he had warned them of the conse- 
quences, and shown them the manner of the King that 
should reign over them. Their folly and wickedness, in 
persisting in this offensive and hurtful petition, were thus 
all the more aggravated : " And he gave them their 
request, but sent leanness into their soul." 

One remark more on this subject, and we have done. 
God can very easily send a gracious answer to our prayer, 
while, at the same time, he does not give us the identical 
thing for which we pray : he can give us more and better 
in another form. Take the instance of St. Paul, praying 
to be delivered from the thorn in the flesh. Like his 
Lord, he urged his prayer earnestly and repeatedly : " For 
this thing," says he, "I besought the Lord thrice that it 
might depart from me." His prayer was answered; but 
not in the thing for which he prayed. The answer was, 
" My grace is sufficient for thee ; for my strength is made 
perfect in weakness." And this answer was perfectly 
satisfactoiy to the Apostle ; as much so as if the very 
thing he asked for had been given him, — perhaps, even 
more so. " Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in 

N 



176 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEK. 

my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon 
me." 

We pass away, then, from the contemplation of Christ 
in his agony, and of his instructive deportment while 
enduring it. May the lessons which both are so admir- 
ably adapted to teach be learned by us all ! And now that 
we turn to a consideration of the conduct of the chosen 
three who witnessed this mysterious and distressing scene, 
we shall probably find this part of the sacred narrative 
equally calculated to convey to us important lessons and 
salutary admonitions. 

Peter, James, and John, were selected by Christ to wit- 
ness his agony, — to watch with him, and to engage in 
prayer. Probably, if the Evangelists had left us without 
information as to the manner in which these three disci- 
ples conducted themselves, we should have felt no diffi- 
culty in arriving at the conclusion that they watched and 
prayed, as they had been desired. It is so natural to 
suppose that they would deeply sympathize with their 
beloved Master, — that they would be, in every respect, 
alive to his sorrowful position, — profoundly moved by 
the sight of his mysterious anguish; and, while they 
could not relieve the suffering, they would affection- 
ately lend the sufferer their countenance and prayer ; 
mindful of his words, and with intense desire for his 
relief, they would watch with him. All this was to be 
expected; and, apart from the direct information of the 
Evangelists, all this would probably have been concluded. 



ASLEEP IN GETHSEMANE. 177 

No man would have been listened to for a moment who 
would have ventured to argue for the probability that they 
fell asleep. He would have been thought asleep, and 
dreaming too. 

And yet, alas for human nature ! and alas for the pre- 
tensions of the frail ones of earth ! the thing we should so 
naturally have expected the disciples to do, was the very 
thing they did not; and that which we should have 
thought the most improbable of all, was the very tiling 
they did : they fell asleep. We find that, during the 
intervals of time elapsing between the several presenta- 
tions of our Saviour's prayer, he came to his disciples, 
and found them sleeping. Again and again he wakened 
them ; but as often they fell asleep, " for their eyes were 
heavy." This part of the account deserves our most care- 
fid consideration ; and, while it may serve to humble us, 
by showing how frail we are, it may greatly edify us with 
its salutary truth. 

Jesus said to them, " Tarry ye here, and watch with 
me." This injunction implied, at least, that they should 
keep awake ; and we cannot doubt that they were able to 
do so. It was their duty to keep awake. No blame 
could attach to them for sleeping, if to keep awake had 
been impracticable. The duty might be difficult, — under 
the circumstances, perhaps, it might be extremely difficult ; 
but still it was practicable. Christ would not have 
enjoined them to watch, if the fact that it was night, — 
that they were exhausted, overcharged with sorrow, and 

n 2 



178 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEK. 

the subjects of special Satanic influences, — had rendered 
watching impossible. Whatever Christ commands to be 
done, is our duty, and may be accomplished. The duties 
which he enjoins are to be fulfilled in a strength supe- 
rior to our own, — a strength divine, and, therefore, all- 
sufficient. On this principle, we maintain that the thing 
which Christ commands, though physically impossible, 
becomes graciously easy; and that whatever difficulty 
may be alleged in the case of the disciples, in reference to 
their keeping awake, they were under obligation to do so, 
and deserving of blame for having slept 

Beside, one would have supposed that there was every 
thing in their situation to keep them wakeful ; and that, 
in point of fact, the difficulty would have been in going to 
sleep. With respect to Christ, — the Master whom they 
so fondly loved, — he was in circumstances of extraordinary 
mental excitement and suffering; and he had solicited 
their sympathy, and brought them here for the very pur- 
pose : " Tarry ye here, and watch with me." And with 
respect to themselves, they had been distinctly and repeat- 
edly told that trials were at hand : they had been warned 
of dangers which would overtake them this very night ; 
that their enemies would shortly be upon them ; and that, 
altogether, they would, in a few hours at the farthest, try 
their attachment to Christ and his cause, as it had not 
been tried before. Nor, be it observed, were these inti- 
mations made to them at some distant time. Not an 
hour had elapsed since they had received these warnings. 



ASLEEP IN GETHSEMANE. 179 

On the way to this place, while walking from Jerusalem 
to Gethsemane, (and the distance was only about a 
mile,) this had been the subject of conversation. The 
warnings had not been vaguely given ; and the lapse 
of time had not permitted them to be forgotten. Tell a 
man, that to-night the civil authorities will send to appre- 
hend him, — that to-night the enemies who are plotting 
his downfall and ruin will be upon him in overpowering 
strength, — that to-night the loved one of his heart will be 
taken away from him, — and would you not expect that, if 
he believed your telling, he would keep awake ? If you 
found him asleep, would you not be ready to conclude, 
either that he did not believe what you had told him ; or 
that he thought lightly, and was altogether careless, of the 
evils you had indicated ; or that he was so confident of 
his ability to meet and overcome the evils, and so abso- 
lutely assured of the sufficiency of his resources, as to feel 
himself in perfect safety ? 

Now, if we apply any one of these conclusions, with a 
view to explain the sleep of the disciples on this occasion, 
we establish the fact of their culpability. If they did not 
believe in the trial and danger of which Christ had so 
plainly warned them, they were guilty of a grave offence, 
and one for which no justification can be offered. If they 
under-estimated or thought lightly of the danger Christ* 
had pointed out, it was an assumption of superior judg- 
ment to that of their gracious Master, and a serious 
reflection upon him for having needlessly alarmed them. 



180 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

Or, lastly, if they over-estimated their courage and 
resources, it showed an ignorance of themselves, and a 
degree of vanity, which it were scarcely possible to remove 
or to correct otherwise than by a disastrous failure. In 
any case, therefore, it was their folly and their sin not to 
watch and pray when Christ told them to do so ; and 
especially when he had not only prescribed their duty, 
but also condescended to explain to them the reason of 
that duty, and the many important considerations which 
combined to prove that this was a wise and necessary 
course. With all these facts before us, we cannot refrain 
from censuring the disciples for having fallen asleep. 

But their apologists are prepared to urge, in their 
behalf, that it was night ; that they were exhausted with 
the journey ings and engagements of the day ; and that, in 
fact, they fell asleep from being overcharged with sorrow. 
St. Luke says, that the Saviour came, and " found them 
sleeping for sorrow." We would give all due weight to 
these suggestions. And, especially, it behoves us to pon- 
der carefully the statement of St. Luke : the disciples 
were " sleeping for sorrow." These words unquestionably 
imply that their sleep arose from their sorrow. Their 
sorrow and their sleep are here evidently put as cause and 
effect. As for their sorrow, it was what we might look 
for on the occasion ; and it evidenced a right state of feel- 
ing on the part of the Apostles. And as the sleep into 
which they fell was the natural effect of this very sorrow, 
which vou admit was creditable to their hearts, can we 



ASLEEP IN GETHSEMANE. 181 

suppose there was any culpability in their falling asleep ? 
Can they, with any show of fairness, be blamed for that 
which arose naturally out of their sorrow for the sufferings 
of a beloved Master ? Instead of reckoning their sleep an 
indication of their want of sympathy with Christ, is it not 
put in by St. Luke as conclusive evidence of that sym- 
pathy? Was not their sleep, therefore, rather to their 
credit than otherwise ? 

Questions of this sort are perfectly in order : they arise 
naturally out of the words of St. Luke, and in connexion 
with the grave animadversions on this part of the dis- 
ciples' conduct, contained in the preceding paragraphs. 
To all these questions, however, there is one general 
answer ; an answer, to our own apprehension, perfectly 
conclusive. The questions thus raised are intended to 
exculpate the disciples, to free them from all blame ; and 
the general answer is, that Christ did not so exculpate 
them He blamed them ; he expostulates with them on 
the impropriety of their conduct, and reproves them. 
Where Christ reproves, let no man seek to justify. The 
truth is, that the words of St. Luke are an explanation of 
the fact on physical principles, but not a justification of it 
on religious grounds. There are many things done, in 
the course of a man's life, which you can easily enough 
account for, but which, nevertheless, you cannot justify. 
For example, a Christian man falls from grace ; falls 
foully into sin. You have known him long and well. 
You understand his turn of mind, and are, perhaps, fully 



182 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

acquainted with the weak point in his character. You 
understand clearly the peculiarity of the position in which 
he has been placed. You know the special temptations 
to which he has been exposed. You are acquainted with 
the adverse influences surrounding him, and operating 
upon the peculiarities of his mental and moral constitu- 
tion. So familiar have you been with all these, that you 
have almost calculated upon his fall from the beginning ; 
and, now that it has actually occurred, you are not in the 
least degree surprised. You are able to comprehend at 
once the whole process which has been worked out in this 
disastrous issue. But, while you pity him, — and you 
ought to do that, — would you exonerate him from all 
blame ? Would you justify his conduct ? Would you 
disconnect all idea of guilt from his fall ? No, no ; you 
would not, could not, do so. If you believe in the pro- 
mised guidance, upholding, and guardianship of Almighty 
God, you must believe that he fell through his own 
fault. 

So here, you may account for the fact that the disciples 
slept ; but it is quite another thing to justify that sleep, 
and to free them from all blame. Without supposing, as 
some have done, that the disciples were now, as well as 
their Master, subjected to special influences from the 
powers of darkness, it may be observed, that their sleep 
admits of an easy physical explanation. One of the ordi- 
nary effects of excessive grief is a disposition to sleep. 
The natural course of the circulation is interfered with ; 



ASLEEP IN GETHSEMANE. 183 

the brain becomes overcharged and compressed; and 
heaviness, stupor, and sleep result. Dr. Hush, in his 
work on Diseases of the Mind, remarks, " There is ano- 
ther symptom of grief which is not often noticed, and 
that is profound sleej). I have often witnessed it, even in 
mothers immediately after the death of a child." Many 
examples illustrative of this might easily be adduced, were 
it necessary. We will, therefore, assume that this 
explanation is received; and then the only question 
which may be fairly raised is, whether the disciples were 
in circumstances to guard against and overcome this 
physical effect of sudden and intense grief. There cannot 
be a moment's hesitation in answering this question in 
the affirmative. The disciples were told that this was a 
time for special prayer ; and, had they united with Christ 
in prayer, as he instructed them to do, they would have 
received grace in this their time of need. The Eedeemer 
said, " My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death :" 
their sorrow was unspeakably less than his ; and, if they had 
done as he did, and as he told them to do, — pray, — they 
would have been succoured as truly as he was. " There 
appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening 
him." We dare not say, indeed, that an angel would have 
been sent to strengthen them ; nor was that required ; but 
it may be safely affirmed that, somehow or other, God 
would have sustained them in this hour of their sor- 
row, and kept them from the error into which they fell. 
Had they obeyed Christ, and duly improved the season of 



184 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

opportunity, they would not only have been kept from 
sleeping, but their minds would have been prepared for, 
and fortified against, the trials and dangers which were at 
hand. Instead of this, they gave themselves up to help- 
less grief, and slept till the hour for prayer was past, and 
the trial had actually come upon them. 

On the whole, therefore, it appears that it was the duty 
of the disciples to watch, because Christ had commanded 
it. It was practicable for them to do so ; for Christ is 
not a hard Master : he does not make that any man's 
duty which the man is not, somehow or other, competent 
to do. Their sleeping was all the more inexcusable, as 
Christ had not only commanded them to keep awake, but 
had also explained to them the many reasons there were 
for doing so ; and this hour of watching and prayer was 
expressly intended to prepare them for, and qualify them 
to rise above, the dangers and sorrows just at hand. It 
was, therefore, both foolish and dangerous to neglect the 
warning, and to sleep, instead of watching unto prayer. 
This summary view of the whole case will enable us to 
understand precisely in what way their sleep, although 
the effect of a natural cause, was reprehensible. There 
was -a gracious remedy against it : they neglected this 
remedy ; and their sleep was their sin. 

Hitherto our remarks have been upon the general sub- 
ject of the disciples sleeping ; we must now have more 
particular reference to Peter. There were peculiarities in 
his case, which made it far stranger for him to sleep, than 



ASLEEP IN GETHSEMANE. 185 

for either James or John to do so. It was culpable in 
them, but more manifestly so in him. 

" He cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them 
asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch 
with me one hour?" Peter is singled out from his com- 
panions ; and the pointed question thus put to him 
plainly implies that such conduct in him was most sur- 
prising and reprehensible. It was so, inasmuch as he 
had been warned, not only in common with the other 
disciples, but specially and individually. Christ had, so 
to speak, taken special pains with Peter to make him 
fully understand the critical circumstances in which he 
was placed. Christ had repeatedly addressed to him the 
most earnest and affectionate admonitions. To all this 
Peter had replied by a declaration of his strong and unal- 
terable attachment, and of his ' fixed determination to 
abide all hazards in standing by Christ and his cause. 
He had professed in the strongest terms his readiness to 
suffer imprisonment or death rather than forsake his 
Lord. And surely, after all this, we might reasonably 
expect to find Peter serious and guarded, careful and 
devout. The very professions he had made, and which 
could not yet have passed from his recollection, it might 
be thought, would help to preserve him, by making him 
feel that his character was at stake. He had professed 
more, and more would be expected of him. But, alas for 
him ! he was strong in himself ; he trusted to his own 
heart, and sacllv failed. The Saviour asks him to watch 



186 SCENES IN THE LITE OF ST. PETER. 

with him ; and the request is scarcely made before Peter 
falls asleep. The Master, whom he professes so ardently 
to love, for whom he is ready to be imprisoned or to lay 
down his life, is now in the deepest distress, and requests of 
Peter an hour's sympathy. But Peter sleeps. The Redeemer 
prays, being in an agony, — prays as he never had prayed 
before : but Peter prays not with him ; he sleeps. Dangers 
are thickening around him ; the enemies are at hand ; the 
storm has gathered, and is ready to burst upon him ; but 
what recks Peter of all this ? He sleeps. Satan comes, 
with subtlety and malignant power ; the purpose of his 
coining has been specified; he comes to sift Peter as 
wheat is sifted : but what of that ? Peter sleeps. He is 
wakened up time and again ; but waking and warning are 
alike in vain: he sleeps. Peter thought he could do 
great things ; but he fails in little things. He could 
suffer imprisonment ; but he could not pray for an hour. 
He could lay down his life ; but he could not keep awake. 

Once more the Saviour addresses Peter ; but it is to 
tell him that the hour is past : the opportunity for prayer 
and preparation is ended. " Sleep on now, and take your 
rest ; behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is 
betrayed into the hands of sinners. " Duty has been neg- 
lected, opportunity lost, prayer restrained ; and now that 
the storm has burst, Peter finds himself unprepared, and 
his confidence, resolution, and attachment are swept away 
by the blast. 

Let us not, however, in a just reprehension of Peter 



ASLEEP IN GETHSEMANE. 187 

and Ms fellow- disciples, lose sight of ourselves. Let us 
not overlook the fact, that our own conduct has been in 
so many instances unworthy, and very different from what 
might have been looked for. The returns which we have 
made to the Lord Jesus, for all the benefits of his love, 
have been most meagre and unsatisfactory. In a thousand 
instances we have been unmindful of his interests, and 
heedless of his warnings. He has shown us his will, and 
we have followed our own. He has called us to work ; 
and, though we have said, " We go, Lord," we have 
remained where we were, and unemployed. He has dis- 
covered to us, at some particular time, his interests in 
jeopardy ; but we moved not to the rescue. We might 
have spread his truth, sustained his cause, enlarged his 
kingdom, and advanced his glory ; but we have miserably 
failed; and our failure has been aggravated by unnum- 
bered blessings of the richest value on the one hand, and 
by large professions of attachment, interest, and purpose, 
on the other. If we had received little from him, little 
would have been looked for in return : if we had made 
less profession, our shortcomings and failure would have 
been the less observed. We have been too much like 
Peter ; and well may the Saviour say to us, as he said to 
him, " What, could ye not watch with me one hour?" 

It is the business of all the disciples, whatever their 
station in life, and whatever the means at their disposal, 
to sympathize with Christ in. his great and merciful 
design to illuminate and renew the world, and to restore 



138 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

to mankind the happiness which sin had driven from 
them. It is their duty, as it is their highest privilege, to 
take part with him in labours for the salvation of men. 
They are called to unite their prayers with his for the 
speedy coming of his spiritual kingdom. But while all 
these things are perfectly clear as matters of duty and 
privilege, as constituting a service to which he is most 
justly entitled, and which we have vowed again and again 
to render him, what have been the facts of the case? 
Talents have been buried in the earth ; we have slumbered 
at our posts ; and while the prayers of our great High 
Priest above have been unceasing, ours have been inter- 
rupted by the most trifling occurrences. what long 
intervals there have been, during which the world of 
perishing men has been forgotten, and the prayer, " Thy 
kingdom come," has been coldly and dreamily uttered ! 
The good seed of the kingdom has been sown; but 
instead of watching with intense interest for the growth 
of it, as we ought to have done, we have slept, and, while 
we were sleeping, the enemy came and sowed his tares. 
The foe has been at the gate, mustered in fall strength : 
he has been there with all the resources of his subtlety, 
malignity, and power ; the cause of Christ has been in 
peril : but we have slept instead of watching, and the 
citadel has been taken. 

Shall we look to a period not very remote, — say, a 
hundred years ago ? There was then a very dark world ; 
untold millions of perishing men, — men for whom the 



ASLEEP IN GETHSEMANE. 189 

Saviour died, — men for whose illumination the Gospel 
was given, — men for whose deliverance from the god of 
this world Christ had unceasingly prayed, for whose sal- 
vation he had unweariedly concerned himself ; but might 
he not have said then, as he said on another occasion, 
"Of the people there was none to help me?" The 
church was asleep. The sighs and groans of dying 
millions no more affected her, than did the strong crying 
and tears of the suffering Saviour affect his disciples in 
Gethsemane. 

But let us not lose ourselves in a crowd. Let the 
question be proposed to each one of us, Who among us 
has not slept, — slept when he shoidd have prayed, rested 
when he should have toiled, been at ease and in security 
when danger was at hand? The tramp of approaching 
enemies might have been expected to keep us wakeful; 
but we have slept. The time for slumber is past. A 
glorious awakening has taken place among the churches, 
and the Saviour's work is being accomplished. His truth 
is spreading in the earth. His kingdom is coming. The 
world will be saved. While the church is labouring, 
believing, and praying, there are bright hopes for man- 
kind. may she never again be foimd, like Peter, 
asleep in Gethsemane while the Master prays ! 

"What I say unto you," said Christ, "I say unto all, 
Watch." We need to be exhorted to this duty as much 
as they did : for although we may not be exposed to the 
same kind of danger as that to which they were exposed, 



190 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

there are other dangers which surround and threaten us, 
and against which it is as necessary we should be prayer- 
fully guarded. We are every day more or less liable to 
be influenced by things adverse to our purity and peace. 
On any morning of our lives we jnay fairly reckon upon 
meeting with something in the course of the day, more or 
less calculated to affect our spiritual interests. A 
stumbling-block may be in our way, a difficulty may arise 
to discourage us, or an enemy seeking to oppose our pro- 
gress may appear. As we move along in the path of duty, 
we find that here a snare has been laid for our feet, and 
there something has been placed to allure us from truth 
and love. Unless, therefore, we "watch and pray," we 
shall inevitably " enter into temptation." However sin- 
cerely resolved we may be to mind our duty, and not to 
be turned aside or hindered by any thing that may occur, 
we shall find that true with reference to ourselves, which 
was spoken of the disciples : " The spirit indeed is willing, 
but the flesh is weak." The weakness of the flesh was 
not adverted to for the purpose of excusing their careless- 
ness, but as showing the great reason for vigilance. 
" Watch" lest you should be taken by surprise ; u pray" 
lest your weakness be overcome. 



SCENE VII. 

BY THE FIRE IN THE HALL OF THE HIGH PRIEST'S 
PALACE. 

" But Peter followed him afar off unto the High Priest's palace, and 
went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end. Now Peter 
sat without in the palace : and a damsel came unto him, saving, 
Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before 
them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. And when he 
was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said 
unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of 
Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know 
the man. And after a while came unto him they that stood by, 
and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them ; for thy 
speech bewrayeth thee. Then began he to curse and to swear, 
saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. 
And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, 
Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went 
out, and wept bitterly." — Matt. xxvi. 58, 69-75. 

There was a time in the history of King David when 
he thought that his troubles were all past and gone, his 
long-continued and anxious toils were ended, the period 
of rest had come, and he should toil no more. The last 
difficulty is surmounted, and the last danger has disap- 
peared. He has risen superior to opposition and trial, 
temptation and discouragement, and he feels himself 
entitled to repose in the results. Laurels encircle his 
brow, and strength is under his feet. He returns in 

o 



192 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

triumph from the well-fought field, and peace sets in, to 
be disturbed no more. " I shall never be moved," said 
he ; " thou hast made my mountain to stand strong." 

But alas for him ! how soon he discovered his mistake, 
and was constrained to add, " Thou didst hide thy face, 
and I was troubled !" He found that his confidence of 
security and strength was premature. The tone of triumph 
in which he indulged belongs not to a changeful and 
probationary state like this. Not till mortality is swal- 
lowed up of life, and earth is changed for heaven, may we 
sing, " My mountain so strong, I shall never be moved." 

A similar mistake to that of David was made by Peter. 
In the clearness of his convictions of the truth, in the 
sincerity of his attachment to Christ, and in the strength 
and fixedness of his resolution, he felt himself absolutely 
invulnerable. Nothing should alter his sense of duty, or 
abate the ardour of his love, or separate between him 
and his beloved Master. He had made up his mind ; he 
had chosen his ground ; and now, come weal or woe, he 
will abide with Christ, and share his fortune. Sorrow- 
fully the Eedeemer spoke to his disciples, and said, " All 
ye shall be offended because of me this night." The bare 
idea of forsaking Christ roused Peter's indignation ; and 
he protested, saying, " Though all shall be offended, yet 
will not I." " If I should die with thee, I will not deny 
thee in any wise." " Simon, Simon," said Christ to him, 
" Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as 
wheat : but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not : 



and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." 
But this affectionate and earnest warning was ineffectual. 
Peter only replied the more vehemently, " Lord, I am 
ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death." 

In all this unquestionably Peter was sincere. He 
spoke as he felt ; he meant all he said, and folly intended 
to make it good. But the result shows, that either he 
over-estimated his faith and coinage and love ; or else, as 
seems, indeed, more probable, his confidence was in these, 
rather than in the grace and guardianship of God. Nor 
does Peter stand alone in this respect ; there are many of 
us like him, strong in ourselves, and strong untried. It 
behoves us all to be jealous of our own hearts, and to 
judge charitably in the case of others. If we see a bro- 
ther or a sister fall, we shoidd pity, and be afflicted, and 
mourn; but at the same time we shoidd feel ourselves 
admonished, lest there shoidd be in us " an evil heart of 
unbelief in departing from the living God." This man has 
fallen under the power of temptation, fallen into sin ; but 
how do I know, if the same temptation had assailed me, 
that I should have more successfully resisted ? " Let him 
that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." 

We have given Peter credit for sincerity, and we must 
not fail to give him credit for courage also. He was 
armed, and ready to employ his weapon, in the face of 
any danger, for the defence of Christ. Look at him in 
the Garden of Gethsemane, and you will see that he is 
prepared to do battle with the enemies of his Lord. He 

o 2 



194 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

fears no man, and boldly faces an overwhelming force. 
A band of Eoman soldiers has arrived, for the purpose of 
apprehending Christ : officers from the Chief Priests 
accompany them, and a multitude of all sorts of persons, 
with all sorts of offensive weapons. But Peter draws his 
sword in the face of all, and courageously opens the 
fight : " He smote the High Priest's servant, and cut off 
his right ear." And he was only restrained from further 
attempts in this line by the address of Christ : " Put up 
thy sword into the sheath : the cup which my Father 
hath given me, shall I not drink it?" 

The courage of Peter (perhaps it may be thought to have 
degenerated into rashness) was, under the circumstances, 
altogether out of place. The evils which Christ had fore- 
told, and which had now actually overtaken them, were 
not to be met by physical force, but to be endured in the 
strength of grace. Peter ought to have prayed for that grace, 
while in the Garden of Gethsemane ; but, instead of doing 
so, he slept ; and the consequence is, that he now finds 
himself compelled to draw upon his own resources in the 
time of need : he falls back upon his natural courage, 
instead of trusting in the strength and protection of God. 

This drawing of his sword is to be regarded as an 
important indication of the state of Peter's mind ; and it 
will materially help us to unfold the secret of his mourn- 
ful fall. It clearly shows us where he had placed his con- 
fidence ; and that his hopes lay in himself, and in his own 
good qualities. He felt that he w^as able to meet the 



conflict, and he expected victory by the might of his own 
right hand. Christ immediately undeceived him ; telling 
him at once, plainly and fully, that this was not the spirit 
in which present trials were to be met ; these carnal 
weapons, these merely human resources, would not avail 
against the enemy ; and that he must entirely cease from 
them. " Put up thy sword into the sheath." Peter had 
neglected to improve the opportunity afforded him for hav- 
ing his mind fortified by the grace of God, and for secur- 
ing spiritual aid from above ; and being now positively 
interdicted by Christ from the use of ordinary weapons of 
defence, he feels himself exposed and helpless in the pre- 
sence of the enemy, and with the immediate prospect of 
greater and overwhelming trials. A complete and most 
unfavourable reaction takes place in his mind ; a change 
passes over him ; he is shorn of his strength ; the armour 
wherein he trusted slips from his grasp ; and, in the sight 
of accumulating trials and an iiifuriated mob, he becomes 
weak as other men. Doubt takes the place of confidence, 
and courage is supplanted by fear. The very next thing 
we are told about him, proves this : " Peter followed afar 
off." 

In the careful perusal of the humbling and admonitory 
history now before us, we shall find that, although the fall 
of Peter, together with all the circumstances which led to it, 
and the repentance which followed, occurred within the 
space of a few hours, the fall itself was, nevertheless, 
gradual. It went from bad to worse; and the several 



196 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

steps conducting to it are all very distinctly marked. May 
we be divinely enabled so to trace the progress of this 
event, as to derive from it all the wholesome and neces- 
sary instruction which it is intended to yield ! 

We have already adverted to what we regard as the first 
thing serving to prepare for this melancholy issue ; namely, 
his sleeping in Gethsemane, instead of watching and pray- 
ing. We shall not further dwell on this particular ; only 
observing, that the man who fails to pray, prepares his 
own way for a failure in every thing else that is good. 
He exposes himself undefended to the enemy, and fears 
before him. It was so with Peter. He was shorn of his 
strength, and quailed before the coming storm. He saw 
evils fast approaching, which he had neither courage nor 
power to meet. And, although he very much desired to 
see what would be the issue of the Saviour's apprehension, 
he could not brace himself up to brave the trials that were 
coming upon him; and hence he "followed afar off." It 
was night when the soldiers arrested Christ ; and, under 
cover of the darkness, Peter follows the tumultuous 
gathering, hoping to be unobserved. It is dark, and he 
may not be seen ; he is only one of a disorderly mob, and 
may not be noticed. But, with all this to favour his 
safety, fear makes him cautious; and he "followed afar 
off*." Who would suppose that this man was a friend of 
Christ? Who would think that he was particularly 
interested in the fate of Christ ? If he had been so, is it 
not probable that he would have kept near enough to 



IN THE HALL OF THE HIGH PRIEST'S PALACE. 197 

Christ to have cheered hini with his countenance, — to have 
been able to converse with him, — to see all that was done, 
and hear all that was said. But, as he follows afar off, 
we may be excused for concluding that he has no parti- 
cular interest in what is going on, and that he is only 
actuated, more or less, by the mad passion pervading the 
mob. 

Now, we cannot but consider this position of Peter, in 
the rabble procession which followed in the wake of the 
soldiers who had taken the Redeemer captive, as, in the 
first place, altogether inconsistent with his previous pro- 
fessions. Surely this was not the place to be taken by him, 
who had so vehemently declared his strong, superior, and 
unalterable love to Christ. Love so ardent and self- 
sacrificing ought to have led him up to the side of Christ. 
If he had taken this position in consequence of the strong 
arm of the soldiery having been laid upon him, or under 
the pressure of an overwhelming crowd, we could easily 
understand it. But to think of him voluntarily and 
designedly taking his place in the rear, and following afar 
off, skulking behind to be out of harm's way, is inconsis- 
tent and affiictive indeed. It was unworthy conduct, 
viewed in relation to Christ. He deserved better things 
of Peter. Many a favour he had shown him, — many a 
blessing conferred upon him; and this was a miserable 
return for all his friendship and kindness. 

This position was as unfortunate in its influence upon 
Peter, as it was improper in itself. A man of Peter's tern- 



198 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

perament, especially, was likely to be damaged by this step. 
It was taking the most effectual way to foster his fear and 
increase it, and to render more acute his sensibility to 
harm and annoyance. If he had taken a bold and decided 
step at the onset, — stood by the side of his Lord, — openly 
identified himself with him, and resolved to carry out his 
previous declaration, that he would go to prison with 
him rather than forsake him, — the immediate effect upon 
his own mind would have been most beneficial. The 
decision would have braced up his courage. He would 
have gathered strength in the effort to master his feelings 
and fears. But, instead of this, he nursed his fears by 
following afar off; and, by an inevitable law of the human 
mind, he would become every moment increasingly sensi- 
tive to danger and difficulty, and the prospect of bodily 
harm. Deliberately to yield to fear is to be conquered by 
it, and unnerved in the presence of the thing which is 
feared. 

In addition to this, we may very well suppose that, if, 
instead of following behind, Peter had boldly gone up 
to Christ, and walked by his side, he would have been 
benefited by the counsels of Christ, by his calmness and self- 
possession, and by the words of comfort and of hope which 
he would have spoken to him. The Saviour would have 
honoured the disciple who thus honoured him ; and Peter, 
instructed and cheered by the example and the conversa- 
tion of his Lord, might have been saved from his dreadful 
fall. But he "followed afar off," and thus deprived him- 



IN THE HALL OF THE HIGH PRIEST 5 S PALACE. 199 

self of all such advantage. This, then, was the second 
fatal error in Peter's course. 

But this was not all. He took another and most dis- 
astrous step ; and, as we think, under the influence of the 
same fears, and the same hope of escaping detection as a 
disciple of Christ. It would appear that, on reaching the 
palace of the High Priest, Peter was at first unable to 
obtain admission. He had followed Christ thus far, that 
he might see the end, but was after all likely to be balked 
in his purpose. Fortunately, however, for his wishes, 
there was one of the disciples of Christ who was known 
to the High Priest, and who used his influence to obtain 
admission for Peter. This other disciple* (by many sup- 
posed to be John, though without any satisfactory evi- 
dence) went out, " and spake imto her that kept the 
door, and brought in Peter. 55 

* " There are many conjectures "who this disciple was : Jerome, 
Chrysostom, TheojJiylact, Nonnus, Lyra, Erasmus, Piscator, and 
others, say it was John. It is true, John frequently mentions him- 
self in the third person ; but then he has always, " whom Jesus loved" 
as in chap. xiii. 23 ; xix. 26 ; xxi. 7, 20; except in chap. xix. 35, 
where he has plainly pointed out himself as writer of this Gospel; 
but, in the place before us, he has mentioned no circumstance by 
which that disciple may be known to be John. To this may be 
added, that John being not only a Galilean, but a fisherman by 
trade, it is not likely that he should have been known to the High 
Priest, as it is here said of that disciple who followed Jesus with Peter. 
The conjecture of Grotius is the most likely ; namely, that it was the 
person at whose house Jesus had supped. St. Augustine, Tract. 113, 
speaks like a man of sound sense. ' We should not decide hastily/ 
says he, ' on a subject concerning which the Scripture is silent. 5 " — 
Dr. Clarke. 



200 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEK. 

Peter was thus admitted within the palace, so far as 
that he was enabled to see what was passing in that 
portion of the palace where Christ was being examined. 
In some way or other the hall in which Peter was appears 
to have been distinct from the apartment in which the 
Court was sitting, and yet contiguous to it. It is 
described by St. Luke as "the hall," in the midst of 
which they kindled a fire. St. Mark says, " Peter was 
beneath in the palace;" and St. Matthew, that "he sat 
without in the palace." Probably, this was a sort of 
antechamber to the hall where Christ was undergoing 
his trial : or it may have been part of the same hall ; the 
other part, where proceedings were being conducted, 
being elevated above the rest to serve for a tribunal. 

This, however, is not material. The only particular of 
moment is, that here, by the fire in this hall of the High 
Priest's palace, the servants were gathered together. 
The night was cold, and they were warming themselves 
by the fire; and Peter joined them. He mixed himself 
with them, evidently that he might not be suspected of 
any connexion with Christ : and he very likely thought, 
that he had secured a favourable position for his purpose. 
He stood warming himself by the fire, and waiting • • to see 
the end ;" either the end of the trial, or the result of it in 
reference to Christ. He was anxious to ascertain what 
all this procedure would result in ; whether Christ would 
be set free, or be punished. 

This desire of Peter was, so far, creditable to him ; but 
the way in which he sought to gratify it, was objectionable 



and dangerous. The servants in the hall were not fit 
company for him. They were the enemies of Christ, and 
Peter had no business in their society. If, indeed, he 
had been thrown into that society unavoidably, no harm 
might have followed : he could then have looked to God 
to preserve him. But when he voluntarily placed himself 
in it, and that, too, under the influence of a cowardly and 
unworthy feeling, he forfeited all claim on the guardian- 
ship of God. He mingles with these servants of the 
High Priest, that he may not be thought to differ from 
them : he keeps company with the enemies of Christ, that 
he may not be taken for one of his Mends. How unworthy 
this conduct was, on the part of one to whom Christ had 
shown so many favours, and who had made so many 
professions of love ! At the least it might have been 
expected, that Peter would have given Christ his counte- 
nance and sympathy, if he could give him no more. Put, 
alas for human nature ! the man who said he would 
give his liberty and his life for Christ, fails to give him 
even the coimtenance of his presence, and does his best to 
injure and grieve him by openly holding intercourse with 
his foes. Whether Peter stood silently by the fire, or 
whether he took part in the conversation which we cannot 
doubt took place among the servants during the excite- 
ment of this affair, we do not, and camiot, know ; but, in 
either case, he was to be blamed. If he was silent while 
popular frenzy was at its height, and shared in by the 
servants, and while the character of his Master was being" 



202 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

traduced, it was discreditable to him to have been so : 
and if he spoke, it clearly must have been in such a way 
as not to compromise himself, or awaken suspicion of his 
being a disciple, — and in that case he was a coward. 

But excuse is offered for him. It was now about 
midnight, and the night was cold : Peter naturally went 
towards the fire to warm himself. It was the genial 
warmth of the fire he sought, and not the company of the 
servants. Beside, he was as well by the fire as he would 
have been any where else, as far as helping Christ is 
concerned. All this is easily admitted; but, surely, the 
man who was ready to share a prison with Christ, or 
suffer death for him, might have borne the cold for an 
hour. Is it come to this, after all, that a cold night is 
sufficient to separate him from his Lord? that the 
warmth of the fire has greater attraction than Christ ? 
For the sake of this, will he hold fellowship with those 
who traduce his Master's name, and who clamour for his 
blood? We are asked, What coidd he have done? In 
what way could he have been of service to Christ ? Pro- 
bably he could have done nothing of any importance to 
the cause of the Saviour; but that is not the question. 
Christ was clearly entitled to the sympathy of his disci- 
ples; and it was due to him that, at the least, Peter 
should keep from among his enemies. Peter might not 
have been able to render any aid to his suffering Lord ; 
but, at any rate, he might have acted more worthily of 
himself, and more to his own advantage. It would have 



IX THE HALL Ox THE HIGH PEIEST's PALACE. 203 

been greatly to his credit to have avowed his love to 
Christ, and have given some proof of it when Christ was 
so sorely tried. If Peter had kept from the company of 
the servants in the hall, he would not have become such a 
melancholy illustration of the inspired saying, "Evil 
communications corrupt good manners." 

Xothing endangers our piety more than mixing in the 
society of the unsaved ; and especially if we do so volun- 
tarily, and without any call of duty. It is barely possible, 
in such a case, to maintain our religion, and continue 
unhurt by surrounding influences. The spirit, conversa- 
tion, and conduct of the worldly and the profane are 
every way calculated to damage our spiritual principle 
and feeling. We shall either exert an influence upon 
them for good, or they will exert an influence upon us for 
evil ; and this latter is by far the more probable. Would 
not he be reckoned foolish who should go into a vitiated 
atmosphere, calculating that healthy respiration would not 
be interfered with ? Does a man stand where poisonous 
vapours are exhaled, and take no harm ? 

But there are few objectionable things for which men 
are not prepared to set up some plea. So, in regard to 
this unnecessary mixing with the ungodly, it is urged, 
'•'We act under the influence of a pure motive. We go 
to set them a good example. Our presence, as religious 
professors, will exercise a salutary restraint, and keep 
them within proper bounds. We will endeavour to lead 
the conversation to some profitable, or at least harmless 



204 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

and agreeable, subject ; and thus we may be useful, — pre- 
venting evil, and pervading with a leaven of good." 
Now, admitting all this purity of motive and excellence of 
design, we may be permitted, nevertheless, to warn you, 
that it will require, even then, great care and circumspec- 
tion in order to keep your garments unspotted from the 
world. And may we not, without any breach of charity, 
say, that there is reason to fear that this plea of intention 
to do good, in the case referred to, is sometimes insin- 
cerely put forward? Is it not, in many cases, only a 
pretext, under cover of which it is sought to gratify a 
worldly and unsanctified affection ? Are there not many 
persons who go into the society of the irreligious, and 
take part in the conversation and amusements that are 
going forward, simply because their tastes lie in that 
direction ; while, at the same time, they try to persuade 
themselves and others that they are actuated by better 
views and feelings ? Nothing can save such persons from 
harm. They have no wish to keep themselves from evil ; 
and their hypocrisy forbids that they should be kept of God. 
It is not to be concluded, from these remarks, that in 
no case are the pious to have fellowship with the ungodly ; 
"for then," as St. Paul says, "must ye needs go out of 
the world ; " and some of our most important duties would 
be neglected. There are among the unsaved many of our 
kindred ; it may be, some of our nearest and dearest rela- 
tives, for whose spiritual interests we are bound specially 
to care. We cannot stand aloof or withdraw from them 



IN THE HALL OF THE HIGH PRIEST'S PALACE. 205 

without siu. It would be unmanly, unchristian, and 
unkind to think of doing so. They need our instruction, 
our example, and our prayers. But in this case, to be in 
their company and fellowship is in the way of our duty; 
and we have therefore a gracious confidence in God, that 
he will keep us, and vouchsafe to us his blessing. He 
will uphold us, and we shall be safe. And while our 
efforts and example are sustained by prayer to him, we 
shall be made a blessing. But this is altogether another 
matter from that we are now contemplating in the case of 
Peter. With reference to him there are two things to be 
remarked : — the first is, that he had no occasion to mix 
himself up with the servants in the hall ; it was no part 
of his duty to do so, and under the circumstances it was 
unseemly and a fault : the second thing is, that he did 
this under the influence of an unworthy motive ; it was to 
escape detection as a disciple of Christ. On these two 
grounds, therefore, — that he had gone where duty did not 
call him; and that he was in some sense ashamed of 
Christ, and afraid of being involved in harm if recognised 
as one of his disciples, — on these two grounds he had 
forfeited all claim upon the divine care and blessing. He 
was thus without shelter from the storm just ready to 
burst upon him. And although we are humbled and 
afflicted in contemplating the catastrophe which so speedily 
followed, we cannot wonder at it. Peter had prepared his 
own way for falling, and it would have been a miracle if 
he had not fallen. 



206 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

It has already been intimated, that, although the history 
of the fall of Peter is comprised within a very brief period 
of time, his fall was nevertheless by degrees, — from step to 
step, — from bad to worse. It is of importance to note 
this, because it will be found that this mournful example 
of human frailty is illustrative of the rule obtaining in 
the fall of religious professors, and not of the exception. 
It is by no means common for a religious person to lapse 
all at once into sin, — open and gross sin. Generally 
speaking, men fall by little and little. They gradually 
retrace their steps to the world; and it is not diffi- 
cult to mark the several stages in their advance to open 
and gross sin. Perhaps there is, first, disrelish of spiritual 
things ; followed by the neglect of religious means and 
duties, and then by the overt acts of sin. 

It would not, indeed, be difficult to cite the example of 
some one who has been suddenly overtaken, and who has 
at once fallen from grace into open sin. Peculiar and 
fierce temptation has unexpectedly assailed him : in a 
moment the enemy has come in like a flood, and every 
thing has been swept away. In some extraordinary 
instances, temptations have come down like an avalanche 
from the Andes, or like the resistless torrent from a 
bursting reservoir ; and the poor frail one, surprised and 
confounded, has been overwhelmed in a moment. But 
such a case is the exception, not the rule. Backsliding in 
religion is generally gradual; and the only safe course, 
therefore, is to watch against and resist beginnings. 



IX THE HALL OF THE HIGH PKIEST's PALACE. 207 

" Tliis night," said Christ to Peter, " before tlie cock 
crow, thou shalt deny me thrice." And so it came to 
pass. Three times on that memorable night he was 
accused of being a disciple, and as often he denied it. He 
denied all knowledge of Christ, — all connexion with him, — 
all interest in him. This denial, however, assumed three 
different forms. The forms were those of equivocation, 
lying, wA profanity. Notice we, then — 

I. TJie pitiful equivocation. The damsel who kept the 
door, and who let in Peter at the request of that other 
disciple, was the first to suspect and accuse him of being 
connected with Christ. She watched him, as he stood 
warming himself by the fire ; and then, persuaded that her 
suspicions were well-founded, she said, "And thou also 
wast with Jesus of Nazareth. But he denied, saying, 
I know not, neither understand I what thou s a vest." 
Peter was thrown into confusion. The charge came 
unexpectedly : and he was not prepared to rebut it. In 
the embarrassment of the moment, he answered to the 
charge, as if he did not comprehend the meaning of the 
words in which it was preferred ; or as if he could not 
understand how such a charge should be laid against 
him : "I know not, neither understand I what thou 
sayest." He endeavours to evade the accusation by 
cavilling with the terms in which it is expressed ; as if 
he would say, "What can be meant by accusing me? 
Why should I be suspected ? What evidence is there 
against me ? Who is this Jesus of Nazareth ? What do 

p 



208 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

you mean by having been with him ? There were mul- 
titudes with him in the garden : why do you single me out 
from the whole ? You charge me with being a disciple, 
what is it to be a disciple ? Why do you take me for 
one ? " "I know not, neither understand I what thou 
say est." 

Peter had now a noble opportunity of confessing Christ ; 
but, instead of improving it as he ought to have done, he 
acted as if it were discreditable to be connected with 
Christ, and a matter involving too much danger to admit 
of his acknowledging him. At the same time, he does 
not appear to have been quite prepared, deliberately and 
formally, to deny Christ. He dare not confess him : and 
he is not yet blinded and hardened enough to deny him 
in so many words. Practically, he will deny Christ, so as 
to be saved from any personal inconvenience and harm ; 
but, if it be possible, he will do this in such a way as 
not to tell a deliberate falsehood. He attempts to shuffle 
out of the difficulty, by a pretence of ignorance of what 
his accuser meant. It was but a paltry subterfuge. And 
it may be safely affirmed, that the man who will con- 
descend to it, is in danger of something worse. Equivo- 
cation is next-door neighbour to lying. It proceeds from 
a state of mind almost identical with that which leads to 
lying. In both there is the wish to conceal a fact, the 
admission of which may involve in inconvenience and 
harm. Equivocation is a mean way of hiding truth,-— but 
it is a dangerous one. It is such a trifling with the 



IN THE HALL OF THE HIGH PRIEST'S PALACE. 209 

sacredness of truth, as cannot be indulged in with impu- 
nity. The beauty of truth will be obscured, the obliga- 
tion of truth will be unheeded, and the force of truth 
unfelt. And at no distant period, the pitiful equivocation 
will be followed by— 

II. The direct lie. After the first denial of Christ, 
Peter retired from the hall into the porch : this he did, 
probably, to conceal his confusion, and in the hope of 
avoiding a further accusation. He had not been long in 
the porch, however, before another maid saw him; and 
this maid knew him to be one of the companions of 
Christ. She said to them who were standing by, " This 
fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth." This statement 
of the maid was received by all : they echoed the charge ; 
and Peter found himself in a more critical position in the 
porch, where he thought to be unnoticed, than when he 
stood warming himself by the fire : and he sees, that if 
he would escape from his embarrassment, he must take a 
much more decided course than he took before. There is 
no chance now in mere evasion. To answer ambiguously 
will be to confirm what they say. To equivocate, as he 
did in the former instance, will now be practically to 
admit the accusation. This second denial must, therefore, 
be put in the most unmistakeable terms : and Peter now 
boldly affirms, in so many words, that he is not one of 
Christ's disciples ; adding, to make his denial still more 
complete and effective, " I do not know the man." Peter 
had no connexion with Christ, felt no interest in him, and 

p 2 



210 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

had no knowledge of him. " I do not know the man." 
Considering the person by whom, and the circumstances 
under which, these words were spoken, we may fairly say, 
that the lie which they expressed was one of the most 
astounding ever uttered by the lips of man. It is difficult 
to imagine how Peter coidd have spoken them; and to 
describe the state of mind in which he was when he did 
so, is altogether impossible. He was among the first of 
those who became the disciples of Christ. He was one of 
the earliest called to the apostleship. No man knew 
Christ better than Peter did. During some years he had 
been on the most intimate terms with him, and privi- 
leged to enjoy the most familiar and happy intercourse. 
On several occasions he had received special tokens of 
the confidence and friendship of Christ. He had been 
selected, as one of three disciples, to witness some of the 
most remarkable events of the Saviour's life. Por him, 
therefore, above all others, to say, " I do not know the 
man," may well awaken our astonishment to its utmost 
limit, and make us sore amazed. If we had not the divine 
record of the fact, it would be next to impossible to argue 
successfully the possibility of his having done so. After 
years of acquaintanceship with Jesus, — years of companion- 
ship in travel, — years of attachment to him, and of enjoy- 
ment in his company and service, — after these years, for 
Peter to say, " I do not know the man," is a prodigy of 
falsehood, in the contemplation of which the mind reels 
and staggers. Peter had been but a very few minutes absent 



IN THE HALL OF THE HIGH PUlEST's PALACE. 211 

from the place where lie stood and gazed upon Christ, 

while undergoing his trial; he is now but a few yards 
from the spot where Jesus is standing in the presence of 
his accusers, and before his Judge : and we wonder that 
Peter is not frightened with the thought, that Christ 
may hear him thus wickedly denying him. " I know not 
this man!" Was memory then extinct? Had all the 
scenes through which we have thus far followed him passed 
away from his recollection ? What ! not know the man 
who hailed thee from the shore of Galilee, and bade thee 
follow him ? Xot know the man with whom thou hast 
eaten and drunk in the house at Bethsaida ? Xot know 
the man with whom thou hast so often walked to the syna- 
gogue at Capernaum, to listen to his discourses, and behold 
his wondrous works of power and love ? Xot know the 
man whom thou hast often seen healing diseases and 
expelling demons ? Xot know the man whom thou hast 
entertained, again and again, at thine own table ? Xot 
know the man who miraculously cured thine own wife's 
mother, when sick of a great fever? the man who has 
so frequently sailed with thee in thy boat on the Lake of 
Tiberias, and preached therefrom to the multitudes assem- 
bled on the shore ? the man whom thou didst see so 
wondrously transfigured on the holy Mount, and, but a 
few hours ago, so sorrowful and stricken in the Garden of 
Gethsemane ? "What ! not know him with whom thou 
hast spent the whole of this very day ? with whom thou 
hast eaten the Passover, and then walked from Jerusalem 



212 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

to Gethsemane ? the very man to whom thou hast pro- 
fessed the strongest attachment, and for whom thou hast 
declared thyself willing to sacrifice both liberty and 
life ? 0, Peter ! if good angels ever weep, they may well 
weep over thee : if evil and accursed spirits ever triumph 
over the wreck of virtue, this is their hour, and thou art 
their theme ! 

But we have not yet reached the end of this sorrowful 
tale. There is something worse yet to be told. In the 
course upon which Peter has entered, there is a downward 
progress, startling and terrific. He loses all self- 
command, and is liable to fall into any sort of evil, — any 
depth of sin. We have heard him equivocate, — we have 
heard him utter deliberate falsehood ; we must now listen 
for a moment to — 

III. The profane stcearing with which he accompanies 
his third denial of Christ. After the second denial, Peter 
came in from the porch, and stood again in the hall, 
within sight of Christ, although, probably, at some dis- 
tance from him. Here he remained for about an hour, 
when a third party charged him with having connexion 
with Christ. " Of a truth this fellow also was with him : 
for he is a Galilean." Christ was reckoned a Galilean: 
most of his disciples were of that province ; and their 
provincial dialect betrayed them. They said to Peter, 
" Surely thou also art one of them : for thy speech 
bewray eth thee." Another corroborative evidence was 
now at hand to cany home the charge of discipleship. 



IN THE HALL OF THE HIGH PRIEST'S PALACE. 213 

The kinsman of Malchus, whose ear Peter had cut off in 
the Garden, came forward, and said, " Did not I see thee 
in the Garden with him?" The evidence against Peter 
is thus accumulating, and he finds that a simple denial, 
however plain and complete, will be of no avail. Here is 
a man who actually saw him with Christ, as one of his 
disciples. Peter cannot deny this, or set aside the wit- 
ness. And, perceiving that a lie would answer no pur- 
pose, he then "began to curse and to swear, saving, I 
know not this man of whom ye speak." He denied all 
knowledge of Jesus, and solemnly appealed to God in 
confirmation of the truth of what he said. He calls down 
curses on himself, if what he now said was false. He had 
the hardihood and wickedness to call upon God to affirm 
as a truth, what he knew to be a falsehood. And thus the 
melancholy climax has been reached. We have dwelt 
upon it with reluctance and pain ; but we could not pass 
it over. May we be enabled, by the teaching and grace 
of God's Holy Spirit, to lay to heart the solemn admoni- 
tion, and the humbling lessons, which the histoiy of 
Peter's fall conveys ! 

Having thus so deplorably fallen, the wonder is to find 
that he has not sinned beyond all possibility and hope of 
recovery, — that he has not become utterly apostate. Our 
wonder at this, however, will cease, when we recollect, 
that Peter had been not more earnestly warned, than he 
had been successfully prayed for, by Christ. " Simon, 
Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he 



214 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

may sift you as wheat : but I have prayed for thee, that 
thy faith fail not : and when thou art converted, strengthen 
thy brethren." By this prayer of Christ, Peter was saved 
from complete and final apostasy, — saved from everlasting 
ruin. Nothing could have arrested him in his downward 
progress but the gracious hand of the Omnipotent. That 
hand was put forth in answer to the Saviour's special 
prayer. " I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not." 
But was this prayer answered? Did not Peter's faith 
fail ? Undoubtedly it did ; but not to the extent implied 
in the words which the Saviour used. He prayed that 
Peter's faith might not utterly fail, — that he might not 
fall off entirely, and so be finally lost, as altogether apos- 
tate. Now, in this sense of the word, the prayer was 
fully and mercifully answered; and so Peter was saved 
from being eternally undone. Let no man, however, 
venture to sin after the manner of Peter, in the expecta- 
tion of being kept, like him, from complete and final 
apostasy. Nothing could be more unwarrantable and 
dangerous. We may not sin, in any case, that grace may 
abound. And although in this particular instance Christ 
specially prayed for Peter, no man can be certain that 
Christ will thus pray for him. It is by a fearful per- 
versity of the human mind, that the infinite grace of God is 
thus abused, and made a plea for deliberate transgression. 
The turpitude of such a transgression is increased tenfold 
by wicked presumption on abounding mercy. 

In a somewhat popular Commentary by an American 



IN THE HALL OF THE HIGH PRIEST'S PALACE. 215 

Minister, recently published in this country, there is a 
note on this subject which we think pre-eminently mis- 
leading and mischievous. It is with unfeigned reluctance 
that we advert to it. The Commentary is, in many 
respects, able and excellent ; and one all the more regrets 
that it should be disfigured with sentiments which will 
bear the test neither of holy Scripture, nor of a true phi- 
losophy. The note is as follows: "The word c faith* 
here seems to be used in the sense of ' religion,' or ' attach- 
ment to Christ ; ' and the words ' fail not ' mean, utterly 
fail, or 'fail altogether; 5 that is, apostatize. It is true 
that the courage of Peter failed. It is true that he had 
not that immediate confidence in Jesus, and reliance on 
him, which he had before had. But the prayer of Jesus 
was, that he might not altogether apostatize from the 
faith. God heard Jesus always. (John xi. 42.) It fol- 
lows, therefore, that every prayer which he ever offered 
was answered; and it follows, that, as he asked here 
for a specific thing, that thing was granted: and as he 
prayed that Peter's faith might not utterly fail, so it 
follows that there was no time in which Peter was not 
really a pious man. Par as he wandered, and grievously 
as he sinned, yet he well knew that Jesus was the 
Messiah; he did know the Man; and though his fears 
overcame him, and led him to aggravated sin, yet the 
prayer of Christ was prevalent, and he was brought to 
true repentance." 

In the closing sentence of this note we cordially concur : 



216 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

"The prayer of Christ was prevalent, and Peter was 
brought to true repentance." But how that can be made 
to prove " that there was no time in which Peter was not 
really a pious man," we cannot imagine. That the prayer 
of the Redeemer was answered in saving Peter from com- 
plete and final apostasy, we can easily understand; but 
the logic of concluding from this, that, when Peter was 
lying, cursing, and swearing, he was "really a pious 
man," it is not easy to discover. That must certainly be 
a singular sort of piety, which is consistent with lying 
and profane swearing. It is argued that, as Christ here 
" asked for a specific thing," and was always heard in the 
thing he asked, so now the " specific thing" was granted. 
But what was this "specific thing?" Our commentator 
says, it was that Peter " might not altogether apostatize 
from the faith." That "specific thing" was granted; 
Peter did not completely and finally apostatize : but it by 
no means follows that Peter was always "really a pious 
man." That was not what Christ prayed for ; and it was 
not included in the answer which his prayer received. 
That Peter was truly pious before this sad event, we do 
not doubt ; and that he was afterwards restored by the 
mercy of God, and was pious subsequently to his restora- 
tion, we thankfully believe: but that he was "really a 
pious man," while with oaths and cursing he denied ail 
knowledge of Christ, is a position so monstrous as to 
make us marvel how any man could possibly assume it. 
" When thou art converted" said Christ. His piety is at 



IN THE HALL OF THE HIGH PRIEST'S PALACE. 217 

any rate open to question, who needs to be converted. 
And, besides, common sense is outraged by the statement, 
that a man is pious and profane at the same moment of 
time, — a saint and a sinner. We might as well be told 
that a man is standing upright when he is lying prostrate 
on the ground. Can it be light and dark at the same 
instant in one place? Can a thing be true and false in 
the same respects, or bitter and sweet? The difference 
between piety and profanity is at least as great as between 
any of these things. But all difference is confounded, all 
distinction lost, when you receive as true that Peter never 
for a moment ceased to be a really pious man. The wicked 
sinner is a saint ; and you may not conclude from a man's 
sin, however aggravated it may be, that he is other than 
a saint of God, — a really pious man. The man who can 
reconcile this doctrine with either common sense or the 
Bible, is capable of doing any thing. 

The Saviour, no doubt, knew all that had taken place ; 
and, while grieved by the faithlessness of his disciple, he 
yearned for his recovery. True to the prayer which he 
had already offered up in his behalf, he now turned and 
looked upon Peter ; and, at the same moment, the cock 
crew, and Peter then remembered the word of his Lord ; 
and St. Mark says, with inimitable beauty and pathos, 
"When he thought thereon, he wept." 

The crowing of the cock, and the look of Christ, were 
the means employed to bring Peter's sin to his remem- 
brance. That look of Christ, we may suppose, was one of 



218 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

mingled pity, reproach, and love ; and it served to melt 
down the heart of the nnfaithful disciple in deep and 
godly sorrow. We can easily enough conceive something 
of the effect produced by this look of Christ ; but it is 
altogether impossible for even the most practised pen to 
describe the look itself: the pencil of the first master 
would fail to depict it. That look was resistless. All 
the warnings Peter had received, all the love of the Mas- 
ter whom he had so shamefully denied, all the sin of which 
he had been guilty, rose up before him, and overwhelmed 
him. A tide of bitter and sorrowful feeling rolled 
through his spirit, and, unable to refrain himself, " he went 
out, and wept bitterly." And well he might weep bitterly. 
His sin had been most grievous. If his tears of peniten- 
tial grief were bitter in proportion to his sin, then they 
were only less bitter than those which are shed in the 
regions of despair. 

" He went out, and wept bitterly." The Lord looked 
upon Peter ; but Peter could not bear to look upon Christ. 
He felt humiliated and ashamed; his heart was broken, 
and, retiring from the place where he had been guilty of 
such unworthy conduct, he sought some secret place where 
he might, unobserved and undisturbed, pour out his cries 
and tears. How long he remained in this privacy, we 
cannot tell ; and we are not curious to inquire. Perhaps 
he remained there all the period of our Saviour's passion ; 
but, however this may be, it is enough for us to know 
that his was " the godly sorrow which worketh repentauce 



IN THE HALL OP THE HIGH PRIEST'S PALACE. 219 

to salvation not to be repented of." God heard the 
sighings of his broken and contrite heart, marked the 
bitter tears he shed, and listened to his earnest prayer for 
mercy. Peter was forgiven. He was converted, and, 
shortly afterwards, was able to re-affirm his love to Christ 
in presence of his fellow -disciples ; and to do so with the 
utmost confidence, appealing to Christ himself, as know- 
ing all things, for confirmation of the truth of what he 
said : Ci Lord, thou knowest all things ; thou knowest that 
I love thee." Ecclesiastical history reports that, ever 
after, when St. Peter heard the crowing of a cock, he fell 
upon his knees and mourned. Others say that he was 
wont to rise at midnight, and spend the time in penitent 
devotion between cock-crowing and daylight. "Whether 
these things were so, we are not able to say ; but of this 
we are sine, — that Peter's penitence was genuine, and the 
fruits of it lasting. He received mercy at the hand of 
God ; and by the whole occurrence a salutary effect was 
produced upon him, which was permanent during his life. 
It only remains for us now to point out some of the 
more important lessons which this affecting history is so 
well adapted to teach us. The first, and the great, lesson 
is, the folly and danger of self-confidence. " He that 
trusteth in his own heart," says Solomon, "is a fool." 
This was Peter's great error. He was strong in himself. 
He presumed upon his own good qualities ; and, alas for 
him ! he found them like a broken reed in the hour 
of temptation and trial. "Let him that thinketh he 



220 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEK. 

standetli take heed lest lie fall." There is no help for any 
of us but in God : they only are safe whom he keeps. We 
do not, in these observations, reflect upon the genuineness 
or the strength of your Christian graces, any more than 
we reflect upon those of Peter ; but they are not for you 
to trust in, but, by watchfulness and prayer, to cherish 
and preserve. Whatever may be the extent of a man's 
Christian knowledge, the clearness and grasp of his faith, 
the sincerity and fixedness of his purpose, the warmth of 
his zeal, and the purity of his love, he only stands secure 
so long as he stands in the strength of God. They that 
trust in the Lord shall be "as Mount Zion, which cannot 
be moved;" but they that trust in any thing else will 
stumble and fall. Wisdom, courage, faith, all will prove 
insufficient, when the enemy comes in like a flood, unless 
the Spirit of the Lord lift up a standard against him. 
And this we cannot expect him to do, if, in any sense, we 
trust in ourselves. Our only " hope is in the Lord, who 
made heaven and earth." Let us put our whole trust and 
confidence in him ; so shall we be able to sing right joy- 
fully the song of Israel's sweet singer : " He will not suf- 
fer thy foot to be moved : he that keepeth thee will not 
slumber. Eehold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither 
slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper : the Lord is 
thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite 
thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall 
preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. 
The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in 



IN THE HALL OF THE HIGH PRIEST'S PALACE. 221 

from this time forth, and even for evermore." (Psalm 
cxxi. 3-8.) 

Should these pages come under the eye of any one who 
has fallen from grace, who has practically denied his 
Lord, and forfeited the joy of his salvation, we have a 
word for him, — a word of pity and encouragement. TVe 
would grieve with him over his fall, and mourn at the 
Saviour's feet. But we sorrow not without hope. There 
is mercy with Him still. Seek it. Cast yourself at the 
foot of his cress. Trust again in his dying love ; and he 
will recall you by " that pitying look," — 

" That kind, upbraiding glance, which broke 
Unfaithful Peter s heart.' ' 

Poor backslider ! your sin has been great ; and we do 
not wonder that you should weep so bitterly. We rejoice 
to witness your fast-falling tears, and to hear the sighings 
and the groanings of your contrite and troubled heart. 
It is right that you should be distressed ; but you must 
not despair. TVe see in your distress a pledge of coming 
good, — the evidence of grace. You are now being pre- 
pared to receive again the salvation of God. He is 
wounding, that he may heal; humbling, that he may 
exalt, you. You are now tasting the sorrows of death 
and the pains of hell ; but you will thereby be qualified to 
receive and appreciate the joy of his favour and love. 
" "Weeping may endure for a night ; but joy cometh in 
the morning." Surely he will save you. After all that. 
you have done, his mercy is not clean gone ; his bowels 



222 SCENES IN THE LIFE OE ST. PETER. 

of compassion are not closed against you. He pities you 
still, and will forgive you. Do not doubt the efficacy of 
his blood. Do not put away from you, as inapplicable to 
your particular case, the promises of pardon to the peni- 
tent sinner. Do not sin against the grace which is pro- 
ducing your sorrow and desire, and which is itself evi- 
dence of the merciful purpose of your Saviour to restore 
you. He pardoned Peter ; and, if you weep like Peter, 
he will also pardon you. 



SCENE VIII. 

DINING WITH CHRIST OX THE SHORE OF TIBERIAS. 

" So when they had dined, Jesns saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of 
Jonas, lovest thon me more than these ? He saith unto him, 
Yea, Lord ; thon knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, 
Feed my lamhs. He saith to him again the second time, 
Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thon me ? He saith unto him, Yea, 
Lord ; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed 
my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of 
Jonas, lovest thou me ? Peter was grieved because he said unto 
him the third time, Lovest thou me ? And he said unto him, 
Lord, thou knowest all things ; thou knowest that I love thee. 
Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. Verily, verily, I say 
unto thee, YThen thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and 
walkedst whither thou wouldest : but when thou shalt be old, 
thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, 
and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, sig- 
nifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he 
had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me." — Jobn xxi. 
15-19. 

Toward the close of the day, a group of Galilean 
fishermen may be seen standing together on the shore of 
the Lake Tiberias. They seem to be in the mood of 
men who have nothing particular to engage their atten- 
tion ; upon whose time, for the present, there are no 
special demands. The group consists of " Simon Peter, 
Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Gali- 



224 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

lee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of the disci- 
ples" of Christ. Drawing near to this company of fisher- 
men, the first words we hear are spoken by Simon Peter. 
He " saith nnto them, I go a fishing;" just as if the 
thought had suddenly occurred to him that it was strange 
for him to be idling away his time on the shore ; that he 
might as well be away to sea, and engaged in the duties 
of his calling : and so they all thought, as soon as Peter 
had intimated his intention to them. "They say unto 
him, We also go with thee." The action is suited to the 
word, their purpose promptly carried into effect. " They 
went forth, and entered into a ship immediately." There 
is a time for every thing ; and every thing is beautiful in 
its season. There is a time for rest, as well as a time for 
toil. Fishermen cannot, any more than others, be always 
engaged in their laborious calling. Industrious applica- 
tion, whether of the mind or of the body, is followed by 
weariness and exhaustion; and a season of refreshment 
and repose is necessary. That season had been enjoyed 
by the disciples ; and the time for work had come. They 
had been long enough on the land : it was now time for 
them to be off to sea. 

For a while, however, it seemed as if they might as 
well have remained on the shore: "That night they 
caught nothing." There is much uncertainty about the 
fisherman's calling. The toil is often endured, and the 
danger braved, apparently in vain. It happened thus to 
the disciples on several occasions : they did their best, 



DINING WITH CHEIST ON THE SHOEE OF TIBEEIAS. 225 

and were wholly unsuccessful. It would have sometimes 
been very difficult to persuade them of the truth of what 
the Wise Man says, — that "in all labour there is profit." 
And yet this is true ; and it was true even in the present 
instance. "That night they caught nothing;" but the 
unsuccessfulness of the night was more than compensated 
by the miraculous draught of fishes in the morning : the 
unrequited toils of many dark hours were amply rewarded 
by the appearance of Christ on the shore, as morning 
began to break. The gracious discovery of Jesus to 
them, and the fresh proof he gave them of his miraculous 
knowledge and power, were cheaply bought by a long 
night of patient, but fruitless, labour. 

The morning was spread upon the mountains of Gali- 
lee ; but as yet the light was not sufficient to enable the 
disciples to distinguish the features or person of Him 
who stood on the shore, and hailed them with the kind 
inquiry, " Children, have ye any meat?" "What tender- 
ness these words express ! what interest in the disciples' 
welfare ! The Stranger wished to know how it had fared 
with them during the night, and whether they had food 
for their present necessities. The question is proposed in 
tones so gentle and friendly, as plainly to show that no 
idle curiosity prompts it. It proceeded from a generous 
and affectionate heart. The words were spoken by One 
who was concerned for their comfort, and desired to pro- 
mote it. And is not Jesus always interested in his dis- 
ciples' comfort ? Is he not ever thinking of them, and 
Q 2 



226 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER 

making provision for them ? Does lie not take knowledge 
of their temporal circumstances, as well as of what relates 
to their spiritual interests ? Is not his care extended to 
the body as truly as to the soul ? Nothing affecting the 
safety or happiness of his people is too insignificant for 
his condescending and wondrous love to notice. He asks 
about their food : " Children, have ye any meat ? They 
answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net 
on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They 
cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for 
the multitude of fishes." Where is the region concealed 
from Christ? Which are the creatures uncontrolled by 
his power? His eye penetrates the deep sea; and the 
multitude of fishes gather, at his will, into the disciples' net. 
The light of the morning was clearer now, and they 
might more easily recognise their Lord. But other light, 
beside that of the morning, breaks in upon them ; and the 
miracle reveals to them who he was who hailed them from 
the shore. " That disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto 
Peter, It is the Lord." And Peter, hearing this, imme- 
diately girt his fisher's coat about him, and cast himself 
into the sea. Peter was always in a hurry. He seldom 
stopped to think what he was going to say or do. If he 
had, his sayings and doings would have often been more 
creditable to him. Not that we blame him now for yield- 
ing to the impulsiveness of his nature, although it led him 
to adopt a somewhat unceremonious mode of reaching 
Christ. The other disciples, more orderly in their pro- 



DINING WITH CHRIST ON THE SHORE OF TIBERIAS. 227 

cedure, " came in a little skip, dragging tlie net with 
fishes." 

Having reached the land, they found that Christ had 
been preparing for their entertainment. A fire was 
kindled, and fish were broiling on the coals, and bread 
was provided. " Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine ;" 
or, " Come and eat ;" for the original Greek word some- 
times signifies, "to take meat in the morning;" so here it 
might be rendered, " Come and breakfast." Dr. Camp- 
bell observes, " The ancients used regularly but two meals 
in a day ; we use three. As, of our three, dinner and supper 
have been regarded as the two principal, it has obtained, 
not only with us, but all over Europe, to call the first 
meal of the ancients by the first of these two, which is 
dinner ; and the second by the latter, which is supper. 
It is the order which has fixed the names of these meals, 
and not the precise time of the day at which, they were 
eaten, which is commonly variable." 

To dine with Christ on the shore of Tiberias ! What a 
privilege ! O that we could thus enjoy the intimate 
friendship of Christ ! — that we might be permitted to 
listen to his voice, and share in his solicitudes, and feed 
upon the food his hands have prepared ! But he walks 
no more on earth ; he has returned to the glory which he 
had with the Father before the world began, and is no 
longer seen among men. True ; but his heart is with us 
still ; he reveals himself to them that seek him, and feeds 
them with the bread of life, And many a meal have 



228 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

his disciples had, as real and blessed as was that on the 
shore of Galilee. " Behold/' says he, "I stand at the 
door and knock : if any man hear my voice, and open the 
door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and 
he with me." 

Meanwhile, let us endeavour duly, and with thankful 
hearts, to appreciate the value of this divine record of 
what took place between Christ and his disciples, on this 
deeply interesting occasion. Much of valuable instruction 
may be gathered from it ; and, accompanied by the 
Spirit's teaching and grace, the conversation may prove 
as profitable to us as it was to the disciples themselves. 

Our remarks upon this narrative may be conveniently 
arranged under the following particulars : — The Important 
Question ; — the Evangelical Commission ; — and the Pro- 
phetic Intimation. 

I. The Important Question : — " Simon, son of Jonas, 
lovest thou me more than these?" 

It is impossible to over-rate the importance of this ques- 
tion. It relates to the very essence of religion, and to that 
which is altogether, and in every case, indispensable. It 
concerned not Peter only, to know whether he loved Christ, 
but it concerns us all. At the same time, this question was 
with peculiar propriety proposed to Peter. He had pro- 
fessed this love to Christ, — lavishly and vehemently pro- 
fessed it. But, alas for him ! his professions had been 
nullified by sad and shameful denials ; and it was emi- 
nently fitting that he should now be asked, whether he had 



DINING WITH CHRIST ON THE SHORE OF TIBERIAS. 229 

recovered from his fall, and whether his heart again beat 
true to Christ. He had been humbled and afflicted, in 
penitential sorrow, for his sin ; through divine mercy he 
had obtained forgiveness, and was restored to his former 
state ; and now, in kindness, the Redeemer gives him an 
opportunity of declaring this, and re-affirming the fact of 
his love, in the presence of his fellow-disciples. 

But had not all the disciples forsaken Christ in the 
hour of his trial, as well as Peter ? and why are they not 
catechized as well as Peter ? and especially with reference 
to their love to Christ ? The answer is, that while all had 
been offended because of Christ, as he indeed foretold 
they would be, there were, nevertheless, peculiarities in 
the case of Peter. No one of them had made such pro- 
fessions as he had made, and no one of them had fallen 
so sadly. The grounds of inquiry were, therefore, 
stronger in his case than in theirs. At the same time, 
the love which was essential to Peter, was equally essen- 
tial to all the disciples ; and they would not fail to con- 
sider the Saviour's question as, in point of fact, proposed 
to every one of them. 

This question was proposed three several times, pro- 
bably for the purpose of impressing the disciples with the 
immense importance of the subject, and also in allusion to 
the thrice-repeated denial of which Peter had been guilty. 
The declaration of his love to Christ should be as formal, 
and as often repeated, as his repudiation of all knowledge 
of, or connexion with, Christ had been. " He saith unto 



230 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

him tlie third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou 
me?" Peter was grieved at having the same question 
thus put to him again. He might suppose it to imply 
that the Saviour doubted the fact of his love, or his 
truthfulness in declaring it, — that he doubted the sincerity 
or the sufficiency of his repentance. Or Peter might 
think that this repetition of the question was calculated 
to damage him in the estimation of his fellow-disciples, as 
one whom the Kedeemer could even now with difficulty 
believe. Perhaps, however, the secret of Peter's grief lay 
in the fact, that this thrice-proposed inquiry was taken as 
a direct and pointed allusion to his thrice -committed sin. 
Pteminded thus of his melancholy offence, he was deeply 
and painfully moved. And now, as if appealing to the 
kindness as well as to the omniscience of Christ, that this 
questioning might terminate, he earnestly replies, " Lord, 
thou knowest all things ; thou knowest that I love thee." 
It will be observed that the terms in which the ques- 
tion was put the first time differ somewhat from those 
which were employed in putting it the second and the 
third time. " Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more 
than these ?" There is some degree of ambiguity in the 
sentence. It is not easy to determine what the words 
" more than these " refer to. Are they to be referred to 
the disciples themselves, or to their property ? If to the 
latter, then the question put to Peter is, " Lovest thou 
me more than thou lovest thy property, — thy fish, and 
nets, and boat?" But if the words "more than these" 



DINING WITH CHRIST ON THE SHORE OF TIBERIAS. 231 

refer to the disciples, then the question may be understood 
as intended to ascertain whether Peter's love to Christ 
was greater than his love to these, considered as his inti- 
mate friends and associates : " Lovest thou me more than 
thou lovest these ?" Or we may understand the Saviour 
as inquiring whether Peter thought he loved Christ more 
than his fellow-disciples loved Christ : " Lovest thou me 
more than these love me?" On the whole, we are dis- 
posed to think this last the correct construction of the 
words, and the one which is the most consistent with all 
the circumstances of the case. The first sense put upon 
the word is cold and degrading; and it scarcely seems 
befitting the dignity of Christ, or the importance of the 
occasion, gravely to ask a man whether he loved Christ 
more than he loved his fish. 

Peter had in effect claimed to be under the influence of 
a love to Christ greater than that of his fellows, and which 
would be sufficient to save him from forsaking Christ, as 
they might possibly do. "All ye shall be offended 
because of me this night." To this Peter earnestly, if not 
indignantly, replied, " Though all should be offended, yet 
will I never be offended." His love, he thought, was 
purer than theirs, and firmer too. It would be strong 
enough to bind him to Christ, while they forsook him ; 
and firm enough to support liim, while they might fall. 
This was Peter's estimate of his love to Christ, but a few 
days before the interview we are now considering. And 
he is asked whether he is of the same opinion still. But 



232 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

he has learned a salutary lesson, and takes a lowlier view 
of himself and his attainments. He will not venture to 
compare himself with others, or to claim a love superior 
to theirs : he is content with a plain and earnest declara- 
tion of the fact, " Yea, Lord ; thou knowest that I love 
thee." 

Peter might have been asked many other questions 
different from this ; and probably if some one else had 
been the catechist, love to Christ would have been the last 
thing thought of. But He, in whom are hidden all the 
treasures of wisdom and knowledge, proposed the question 
which was of all others the most important and necessary : 
"Lovest thou me?" It is not, "Dost thou know me? 
Dost thou believe me to be the Messiah ? Art thou of the 
same mind as when thou didst say, ' Thou art the Christ, 
the Son of the living God?' Dost thou approve my 
conduct, and understand my doctrine? Art thou pre- 
pared to identify thyself with me, and to abide by the 
fortunes of my cause ? " All these questions would have 
been interesting and important. But Christ waives them 
all, and waives them because they are secondary and 
trifling as compared with this, or because this may be 
taken as including ever}'- one of them, — "Lovest thou 
me?" A thousand minor questions are merged in this 
one. f this can be answered in the affirmative, all else 
will follow. Happiness, holiness, and usefulness, all 
spring out of love to Christ, or follow in its train. 

There are three views to be taken of this love, in 



DINING WITH CHEIST ON THE SHORE OF TIBERIAS. 233 

order to a correct apprehension of its importance and 
necessity. 

First : It is the divine and essential characteristic of New- 
Testament religion. The doctrines which the Saviour 
taught, the institutions which he founded, and the duties 
which he enjoined, are all held subordinate to love. They 
are used as means for its production, or occasions for its 
dev elopement and increase. The moral law itself, the 
entire range of its holy duties, will be found summed up 
in this divine affection. In answer to the question, 
"Which is the first and the great commandment?" 
Christ said, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all 
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 
This is the first and great commandment. And the 
second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as 
thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law 
and the prophets." This supreme love of God, and, 
springing out of it, universal love to man, include all 
possible duty, and all attainable excellence. In earth or 
heaven there is nothing beyond the range of love. Love 
is therefore the Mnlling of the law. The ineffable per- 
fections of the Deity, as revealed in the Gospel, are con- 
centrated in this, — "God is love;" and to be religious, 
in the Xew-Test anient sense of the term, is to be able to 
say, " We love him, because he first loved us." " He that 
dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." This 
is the finished portraiture of Christian piety, the inspired 
description of the loftiest possible excellence and joy. 



234 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

See how St. Paul exalts this love, while he proves its 
necessity : he enumerates the brilliant and miraculous 
endowments of the early church, — the supernatural powers 
of which many of its members made their boast, — and 
tells us that love is more necessary and valuable than 
them all. " Though I speak with the tongues of men 
and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as 
sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I 
have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, 
and all knowledge ; and though I have all faith, so that I 
could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am 
nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the 
poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have 
not charity, it profit eth me nothing." The " new com- 
mandment," which distinguishes the religion of Christ, is 
this, "Love one another:" and by our obedience to this 
commandment, all men are to know that we are the 
disciples of Christ. 

This primary characteristic is an essential one. It can- 
not be dispensed with in any case. It cannot be substi- 
tuted by any of the things in which men pride themselves, 
or by all of them put together. Theoretical belief of the 
divine mission and authoritative teaching of Christ; 
admiration of his character, and ministry, and life ; reve- 
rence and respect for his holy institutions; the mainte- 
nance of an orthodox creed; and open identification 
with him and with his people in the matter of church- 
membership : — all these things, highly important as they 



DINING WITH CHEIST ON THE SHORE OF TIBEEIAS. 235 

are, cannot fill the place of love, or be accepted for it. These 
are but the means, love is the end; these are the shadow, 
love is the substance ; these are the body, love is the 
animating soid. Love is the alpha and the omega, the 
beginning and the end, of the religion of Christ. The 
kingdom of glory in heaven differs from the kingdom of 
grace on earth chiefly in this, — that in the former the God 
of love is more perfectly revealed, and more perfectly 
loved. Love is the grand revelation, love is the brilliant 
atmosphere, love is the lofty employment, love is the 
unending song, love is the ineffable and everlasting 
glory, of the heavenly world. Heaven is love, and love is 
heaven. 

In insisting upon the necessity of this divine principle, 
and while showing its superiority to all things else that 
may be found connected with religion, we are sometimes 
in clanger of producing, or of fostering, a mistaken opinion, 
that there is no particular or necessary connexion between 
a man's creed and profession on the one part, and the 
production and manifestation of this love to Christ on 
the other. We must not depreciate one class of things, 
in order to enhance the value of the other. A thing may 
be secondary, and yet highly important ; it may occupy a 
subordinate place, and nevertheless be essential. So it is 
in regard to some of the things which we have named 
as pertaining to religion. An orthodox creed, a Xew- 
Testament form of chui'ch-govemment, an accredited 
chm*ch-membership, and a Christian profession, are 



236 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

matters entitled to our high consideration. God forbid 
that we should speak lightly of them. But then, the one 
thing concerning which Christ inquires is of higher con- 
sideration still : " Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?" 
They are important, as secondary and subordinate ; but 
this is pre-eminently important, as it is primary and 
indispensable. 

The church of God in our countiy is divided into 
various sections, each differing from the other, more or 
less, in minor points of doctrine or of practice. These 
points of difference are often magnified, and taken to be 
the test of a man's Christianity. And to ask such ques- 
tions as these : " Are you a Churchman, a Dissenter, or 
a Methodist? Are your views of church-government 
Episcopal, Presbyterian, or Congregational?" would be 
deemed the readiest and most effectual method of deter- 
mining the validity of his claims to Christian discipleship. 
To many persons, it appears to be much more gratifying 
to find that a man belongs to a particular portion of the 
church, than to find that he belongs to Christ ; the proof 
of his sectarianism yields a greater pleasure than does the 
proof of his Christianity. The mistake consists in putting 
their own particular church, and church-views, in the 
place of Christ, as the catechist ; and the sect is made to 
say, " Lovest thou me?" 

Now, without meaning in any degree to minify the 
things which distinguish one portion of the Lord's people 
from another, it must be earnestly and constantly main- 



DINING WITH CHRIST OX THE SHORE OF TIBERIAS. 237 

tained, that love to Christ is the one thing that decides 
the question of a man's religion. It must be affirmed 
again and again, that every thing else is referable to 
this as the end ; that every thing else is designed to produce 
this divine affection, — to maintain and increase it, — or to 
afford the opportunity for its developernent. This one 
question, therefore, is proposed to every individual ; whe- 
ther he is found in the magnificent cathedral, or in the 
unpretending meeting-house, or in the cottage prayer- 
meeting. In the church, the chapel, or the cottage, 
Christ inquires of each, as he did of Peter, " Lovest 
thou me?" 

Should these remarks fall under the notice of any one 
who is disposed to question their correctness, and to 
doubt whether this love to Christ be altogether so impor- 
tant and indispensable as we have represented it to be, 
we earnestly ask the attention of such to one word more. 
Other arguments might be advanced ; additioual evidence 
might be adduced ; but, instead of further attempting to 
argue or to prove, we quote the plain, decisive, and 
thrilling words of St. Paul : "If any man love not the 
Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha." 
" If any man," — whoever he may be, whatever his pre- 
tensions, and by whatsoever excellencies he may be 
distinguished from others, — "If any man love not the 
Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed: the Lord 
cometh." 

But the importance and necessity of this love concern- 



238 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

ing which the Redeemer makes inquiry, will further 
appear, if we consider that it is, 

Secondly : The formative element of the new and spiritual 
nature. "The carnal mind," by which we understand 
man's unregenerated nature, "is enmity against God," "is 
not subject to the law of God, neither, indeed, can be ; " 
and so "they that are in the flesh" — living under the 
power of this carnal mind, which is opposed to the Divine 
authority — " cannot please God." What a graphic and 
humbling picture of human nature ! By what means is this 
enmity subdued, this unholy nature changed ? The answer 
is, By the love of God which is shed abroad in the heart by 
the Holy Ghost. God the Holy Ghost is the Agent in the 
renewal and sanctification of man ; and the instrument he 
employs is this love divine. This love is the holy fire which 
he enkindles, and wherewith he melts down the carnal 
enmity. With this fire he pervades the moral and spi- 
ritual system, refining the whole, and assimilating it to the 
nature of God, who is love. To ask a man, therefore, 
whether he is possessed of this divine principle, is, in 
effect, to ask him whether he has undergone that great 
spiritual change which the Saviour so often dwelt upon 
as essential, and without which no man can see the 
kingdom of heaven. 

Thirdly : This love is the only comprehensive and efficient 
principle of evangelical obedience. "If ye love me, keep 
my commandments." "Love is the fulfilling of the 
law." Neither the conviction of moral duty, nor the fear 



DINING WITH CHRIST ON THE SHORE OF TIBERIAS. 239 

of punishment, will be found sufficient to deter from sin, 
or to secure the practice of virtue. But the love which 
we are now considering will at once prompt to obedience, 
and qualify for it. In proportion to the strength and 
purity of this principle, will be the completeness and the 
uniformity of our obedience to the revealed will of God. 
No duty will be irksome, no work disagreeable, to love. 
It will incline the heart to God's law, and make it strong 
to keep it. No exception will be taken to the character 
or the circumstances of the service required. No inclina- 
tion will be felt to attend to this, because it is easy ; or to 
neglect that, because it is difficult. It will be joy to the 
heart to do all His commandments. His entire service 
will be felt to be perfect freedom ; and not only will that 
sendee be rendered as a duty, but it will also be enjoyed 
as a privilege. The love of Christ, felt in its mighty and 
blissful influence, will constrain the individual to live in 
every thing, not to himself, but to Him that died for him, 
and rose again. The heart of love will comprehend the 
words of Christ, so paradoxical to the unrenewed, — "My 
yoke is easy, and my burden is light." What a singidar 
statement to make concerning a yoke and a burden ! 
How irksome and disagreeable to have a yoke about one's 
neck ! Who likes to cany a burden ? "Who would not 
rather be relieved from it ? Relieved from it ! No. It 
is as our meat and drink to do the will of Christ. His 
law is ' ' better to us than thousands of gold and silver ; 
sweeter also than honey or the honey-comb." His love 

R 



240 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

in the heart makes the yoke easy, and the burden 
light. 

Erom all these considerations it clearly appears that the 
question proposed to Peter, and thrice repeated, related to 
what is essential in the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
and was therefore of the greatest possible importance. 
And we are taught that man's moral nature cannot be 
renewed, and the moral law cannot be kept, but by this 
principle of love. It is this which distinguishes Chris- 
tianity from every other form of religion known in the 
history of mankind. And it is by this that men are 
qualified for spiritual service on earth, and for the work 
and the joy of the blessed in heaven. 

But if these things are so, how many persons are 
mistaken and deluded! Eeligion with multitudes is a 
thing having neither life nor power. It is mainly, if not 
exclusively, theological, ritual, or sensuous. 

Theological religion is that of the man who has made 
up his mind to a set of doctrinal views, which he con- 
siders to be derived from the teaching of Christ and his 
Apostles, and to which he attaches undue, and, it may be, 
exclusive, importance. He may have been trained up in 
these views from childhood, or he may have gathered them 
from the public preaching of the word, or he may have 
acquired them by a long course of reading and examina- 
tion : but in whatever way he may have become possessed 
of these views, he regards them as essential. Their mainte- 
nance, promulgation, and defence constitute his first duty. 



DINING WITH CHRIST ON THE SHORE OF TIBERIAS. 241 

They make up the sum of that " faith " for which he feels 
himself called " earnestly to contend." His creed is his 
religion. He will sacrifice any thing at the shrine of 
orthodoxy, the idol before which he falls down to wor- 
ship. With him, ignorance and error are worse than sin ; 
and heresy more to be feared than spiritual death. 
Alas ! how grievous the mistake thus made ! " Xow 
abideth faith, hope, charity, these three ; but the greatest 
of these is charity." " Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou 
me more than these ?" 

Ritual religion is that of the man who ceremoniously 
frequents the place of the holy, and is scrupulously exact 
in the observance of all that belongs to a merely external 
worship. He is never absent from his accustomed place 
in the sanctuary : he takes part in the psalmody, responds 
to the prayers, and listens to the discourse with unbroken 
attention. He is distressed by any violation of the order 
of public service, and by the most trifling breach of what 
he considers a due decorum. If he believed that every 
item of clerical costume was divinely prescribed, together 
with, every movement, attitude, and gesture of the 
officiating Minister, and every intonation of his voice, he 
could not attach higher importance to them than he does. 
But, alas for him ! he rests in the form, while, at least 
practically, he denies the power, of godliness. The form 
is important, but the power is unspeakably more so. 
" Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these ? " 

Semuous religion is that which connects itself with 
r 2 



242 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

ecclesiastical architecture, painting, music, sculpture, and 
clerical robes. A thousand deep emotions are awakened 
by these, and mistaken for religion. The gratification of 
a refined taste is a substitute for the " joy unspeakable, 
and full of glory." An exquisite sensitiveness to the 
beautiful is put in the place of a divine affection. Reli- 
gion in this case is wholly dependent upon the senses. 
The voices of the choir, the mellifluous tones of the organ, 
its lofty swell and its thundering peal, charm the ear, and 
the heart is thrilled. The magnificent arch, the massive 
pillars, and the gorgeous window, with the thousand 
ornaments and beauties of a noble architectural pile, 
enchant the eye, and produce a rush of pleasurable feel- 
ings, beyond which, in religion, nothing is desired. - But 
this is not enough. Hear the Redeemer : " Simon, son 
of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?" 

We pass on now to notice briefly, 

II. The Evangelical Commission with which Peter was 
intrusted. 

There was now confided to him the care of the Saviour's 
flock ; and his duty, with regard to it, was clearly and autho- 
ritatively defined, "Peed my lambs :" " Peed my sheep." 
It may be well to observe here, that no duty was devolved 
upon Peter, and no office assigned to him, except in com- 
mon with his fellow-disciples. He only was formally 
addressed ; but that may be easily explained. There were, 
as we have already seen, special reasons for proposing the 
question, " Lovest thou me?" to him, rather than to them ; 



DINING WITH CHRIST ON THE SHORE OF TIBERIAS. 243 

and the same reasons apply to the commission, and explain 
the fact of its being addressed to him. Peter, instead of 
receiving any office, or dignity, or power, peculiar to him- 
self, is to be considered as, in point of fact, only restored 
to the place which he occupied previous to his melancholy 
fall. His love to Christ is ascertained in presence of his 
brethren ; and he being thus foimd morally qualified, Christ 
re-assigns to him his work ; gives him authority, with his 
fellows, to tend and care for the Redeemer's flock. 

The disciples of Christ — those who believe in his name 
and associate together in his worship, and for the advance- 
ment of his spiritual kingdom among men — are often 
spoken of under the notion of a flock, of which he is the 
chief and divine Shepherd. As, for example, in the beau- 
tiful discourse in John x. : " I am the good Shepherd : the 
good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that 
is an hireling, and not the Shepherd, whose own the sheep 
are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and 
fleeth : and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the 
sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and 
careth not for the sheep. I am the good Shepherd, and 
know my sheep, and am known of mine. And other sheep 
I have, which are not of this fold : them also I must bring, 
and they shall hear my voice ; and there shall be onefold," 
or one flock, " and one Shepherd." 

The good Shepherd was now about to return to heaven, 
and resume the glory which he had with the Father ; but 
he would not leave his flock unprovided for. Before he 



244 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

goes away from them, lie calls and qualifies men to act as 
under- shepherds ; appoints their work, and commits to 
them the feeding of his lambs and sheep. By the "lambs" 
we are to understand the young among the Saviour's fol- 
lowers ; but not the young in years only, but in Christian 
and gracious attainments. The sheep are the more matured, 
either in respect to years, or to the experience and mani- 
festation of Christian grace and character. The lambs and 
the sheep, therefore, comprise the whole of the Saviour's 
flock. 

The terms of the commission show us, that the care of 
Christ is at once comprehensive and discriminating. All 
the members of the flock are thought of, and their several 
necessities provided for. The young have wants peculiar 
to themselves ; so also have the more advanced : and 
Peter is instructed with respect to both. It is unfortunate 
that this does not appear in the terms of his commission, 
— at least, in our English translation of them. " Feed" is 
the word used, both in reference to the lambs and to the 
sheep. And it is true that nourishment has to be provided 
for both ; and so far it is correct to say, "Feed my lambs: " 
" Feed my sheep." Eut something is needed by the flock, 
beside good pasture ; and that something is expressed in 
the original terms employed by Christ. 

" Feed my lambs :" the word used here is &6(tk€, and 
signifies, "to give them food." Eut when he says, "Feed 
my sheep," the word is, izroinaivs, which signifies, more 
largely, to do all the offices of a shepherd tor them, — to 



DINING WITH CHRIST ON THE SHORE OF TIBERIAS. 245 

guide, watch, and defend thera. The shepherd's business 
is not only to provide necessary food, but to guide the 
flock to where that food may be best obtained. His duty 
is to lead the flock in the green pastures, and by the still 
waters ; and, while the sheep are feeding, to watch over 
them, lest any thing should harm them. There may be in 
the pasture, or in its immediate neighbourhood, that which 
would be dangerous or injurious to the flock: the good 
shepherd leads his flock away from this ; and if there 
should be beasts of prey prowling around, he is prepared 
to defend the sheep. 

Divine truth is the food of the church. " Man shall not 
live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth 
out of the mouth of God." These words of God are to 
be given to his people ; and lie does this wisely and well, 
who distributes to eveiy one his portion of meat in due 
season ; who adapts the measure and the kind of truth to 
the necessities of individuals, and the circumstances both 
of time and place. The public preaching of the word is 
the chief, though by no means the only, vehicle to be 
employed in the conveyance of the truth. It may be con- 
veyed through the channel of private intercourse, in the 
social and family gathering, and through the medium of 
the press. The truth as it is in Jesus is supplied to the 
souls of men, that they may thereby be nourished unto 
eternal life. 

The institutions of religion supply food to the church. 
God has no graceless means. All of them are designed 



246 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

to minister to the increased spirituality and vigour of his 
saints. And if persons shall discover a disposition to 
neglect these ordinances, it will be the shepherd's business 
to guide them to the pasture ; just as he would guide the 
sheep from the bleak and barren common or highway, to 
the rich feeding of the grassy glade. 

Shall we further say, that Christ himself is the food of 
his church ? " I am the living bread which came down from 
heaven : if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: 
and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will 
give for the life of the world. Except ye eat the flesh of 
the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in 
you. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink 
indeed. He that eateth me shall live by me, — shall live 
for ever." In the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, Christ 
is exhibited to the faith of his people, and they " feed upon 
him in their hearts with thanksgiving." The servant of 
Christ, in administering this holy ordinance, feeds the flock. 

"Upon whom do these duties devolve? Who are the 
under-shepherds, whose business it is to provide the flock 
with food, to watch, to guide, and to defend it ? Is this 
sendee common to all Christian people? Or are there 
some to whom, in an especial sense, the Saviour intrusts 
this work ? It clearly cannot be the office of all ; for, if 
all were shepherds, there could be no flock ; whereas both 
the shepherd and the flock are necessary to constitute the 
church of Jesus Christ. 

Who, then, are the shepherds ? The answer is, The 



DINING WITH CHRIST ON THE SHORE OF TIBERIAS. 247 

Ministers of Christ ; the men who, from age to age, are 
raised up, and qualified for this office and work, and to 
whom the Head of the church says, "Feed my lambs:" 
"Feed my sheep." In the hrst instance, these words 
were spoken to Peter, and to his fellow- Apostles ; and 
they were called to this work, and received this divine 
commission. But it is to be observed, that at the very 
time when Christ committed the care of the flock to 
them, he was making provision for his church, not only 
during the period of their short life, and within the range 
of their personal residence and travel, but through all 
time, and in every land. Hence we find that, after the 
Saviour's ascension, the office is continued ; and, among 
other gifts to his church, we are told that he gave them 
"Pastors and Teachers." And St. Paul, in addressing 
the Elders at Ephesus, uses this language : " Take heed 
therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the 
which the Holy Ghost hath made you Overseers, to feed 
the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own 
blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall 
grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the 
flock." (Acts xx. 28, 29.) 

From this it is perfectly clear, that, although the Apos- 
tles were, under Christ, the first shepherds, the office and 
work of shepherds did not terminate with them. It has 
been provided that others shall, in this respect, take their 
place, arid feed the flock of Christ. It is, indeed, freely 
admitted, that in the commission, as given to Peter and 



248 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

his colleagues, there was much that was peculiar to them. 
Their plenary inspiration enabled them to supply the 
infallible truth of God ; they could not err in doctrine, or 
in aught that was essential to the founding and organiza- 
tion of the church. The authority and power of an Apos- 
tle were, no doubt, peculiar, because they sustained a 
peculiar office. To this office they received an extraor- 
dinary call, and, for the discharge of its duties, an extraor- 
dinary qualification. When they died, the apostolic office 
ceased, because the apostolic work was completed. They 
have had no successors, in the proper sense of that term. 
And it is a vain and foolish thing for any man to pretend 
that he has derived his ministerial authority, by lineal suc- 
cession, from the Apostles. The doctrine understood by 
the phrase "apostolical succession," is not contained in 
the New-Testament Scriptures ; and the establishment of 
the fact which it assumes is an utter impossibility. It 
is difficult to conceive of a higher style of impudence 
than is exhibited by the man who calls himself a " successor 
of the Apostles." 

There is, indeed, a succession in regard to the apostolic 
faith, and zeal, and love ; and a fellowship in the grand 
design of bringing men to Christ. Shepherds are still 
provided for the flock ; and by the faith which the Apos- 
tles once delivered to the Saints, — by the spirit which 
animated them in their work, — by the grace which sus- 
tained and comforted them in their difficulty and trial, — 
and by their burning zeal for the salvation of men and the 



DINING WITH CHRIST OX THE SHORE OF TIBERIAS. 249 

glory of Christ, — the called and chosen are qualified to 
feed, watch over, and defend the church of Christ. 

While, however, it is thus maintained, that there is a 
distinct call to, and qualification for, the shepherd's office 
and work, we would not be understood as intimating that 
the care of the church is devolved exclusively upon the 
Minister, and that none other can, in any way, feed the 
lambs and sheep of the Saviour's flock. Unnumbered 
gifts are conferred upon the private members of the 
church, which it is their duty and their privilege to 
employ for the spiritual advantage of all around them, 
and especially for the benefit of those in church-fellowship 
with them. In regard to every gift and grace, the apos- 
tolical injunction is, " Seek that ye may excel to the 
edifying of the church." There is work for every man to 
do. Every man may have grace to do his work. And 
all who have received the truth should freely give it to 
others, and thus supply them with the aliment of spiritual 
life. In what other light should we regard Sunday- 
School instruction, Tract distribution, Bible circulation, 
and a thousand other forms of Christian effort obtaining 
in the present day, than that of subordinate methods of 
feeding the flock of Christ ? And although there is a pri- 
mary office of shepherd, and a separate race of men to fill 
that office, and discharge its duties, there is, nevertheless, 
a subordinate, yet important, sense, in which the great 
and divine Shepherd says to all, " Peed my lambs ;" 
" Feed my sheep." 



250 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

We ought carefully to observe, that not only in the 
terms of this commission did Jesus show his distinct and 
gracious interest in the young, — the lambs of his flock ; 
but on many occasions in the course of his personal 
ministry. He specially cared for the young ; he instructed 
them, and manifested a peculiarly tender interest in their 
welfare. So, also, ought his ministers ; so ought all in 
his service; so ought the church. It is of the utmost 
importance that the young should be cared for. The 
church's stability and increase depend materially upon the 
nurture and guardianship of the young. 

The duties of this evangelical commission could only be 
efficiently fulfilled by one who was divinely qualified. 
Without meaning in any way to disparage natural or 
acquired talent, it may be affirmed, that a preternatural 
qualification is indispensable. We gather this from the 
narrative before us. These duties were not devolved 
upon Peter, until the fact of his love to Christ had been 
carefully inquired into, and ascertained. Peter's know- 
ledge, gifts, and training, however excellent in themselves, 
were not deemed sufficient to fit him for the office to 
which Christ now set him apart. And no more can 
these things be reckoned sufficient to qualify for the 
duties of the Christian ministry, or, indeed, for the duties 
of any other department of Christian service. Whatever 
may be a man's natural endowments, or his literary and 
classical acquirements,— to whatever pitch of ability he 
may have risen, and whatever may be the ecclesiastical 



DINING WITH CHRIST ON THE SHOKE OF TIBERIAS. 251 

authority, in the exercise of which he may be set apart to 
the sacred office and work, we are bold to affirm, that, in 
the absence of a spiritual and divine qualification, — in the 
absence of this love to Christ, — he is no Minister of his. 
Christ calls no man to serve him, in the feeding of his 
flock, who cannot say, with Peter, " Lord, thou knowest 
that I love thee." The ministry has been made by many 
a mere profession ; and the church of the Eedeemer has 
been blighted and cursed, by the intrusion upon her of 
men whose only qualifications, to serve her at the altar, 
have been literary and scholastic. Their lips have 
been familiar with the Saviour's name, and their minds 
have been full of his truth; but their hearts never 
throbbed with his love. We do not undervalue classical 
training, literary fm-nishing, ecclesiastical authority ; but 
we affirm that the grace of God, the teaching of his Spirit, 
and the love of the Saviour, are of far higher moment, and 
are, in fact, indispensable. To every man who is a candi- 
date for ministerial service, the Eedeemer says, " Simon, 
son of Jonas, Lovest thou me?" 

Having ascertained Peter's qualification, and appointed 
him his work, Christ proceeds to unveil to him the future, 
and to show him how his career of obedience and service 
would terminate. 

III. The Prophetic Intimation is of a violent death, 
by which he would be called to glorify God : — " Yerily, 
verily, I say unto thee, when thou wast young, thou 
girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest ; but 



252 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, 
and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou 
wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death 
he should glorify God." 

In youth Peter enjoyed personal freedom ; he was the 
master of his own actions ; he girded himself, or remained 
loose; he went or stayed at bis own pleasure; walked 
when and where he t would. But Christ tells him, that 
when he should be old, the case would be altogether 
different. Another should then gird him, and cany him 
"whither he would not." His personal liberty would be 
interfered with; he would be subjected to the will and 
power of another; and, no longer master of himself, he 
would be carried "whither he would not ;" that is to say, 
where he would not naturally desire to be carried : not 
that he would be unwilling, or resist, so that physical 
force would be required in order to compel him. The 
contrary of this seems to be intimated in the words, 
"Thou shalt stretch forth thy hands;" willingly, and even 
cheerfully, submitting to be girded by another, and carried 
to a violent death. 

Prom the earliest times the tradition has been, that 
Peter suffered martyrdom by crucifixion. And it is 
reported, that, feeling himself unworthy to be conformed 
to his Divine Master, even in the manner of his death, 
he requested that he might be crucified, not in the usual 
way, but with his head downwards ; and that his request 
was complied with. 



DINING WITH CHRIST ON THE SHORE OF TIBERIAS. 253 

For all that belongs to the termination of Peter's Chris- 
tian career, the reader is referred to " The Closing Scene," 
at the end of this volume. It is enough to observe in 
this place, that Peter is clearly informed that he must 
suffer a violent death ; and that in that violent death he 
should glorify God. 

A long course of years was before him, during which he 
would have numerous opportunities of glorifying Christ, 
by exhibiting him as the Son of God, and the Saviour of 
lost man ; but having finished his day, — having preached 
and prayed, and toiled and triumphed, — his service would 
close in suffering; his life of piety and zeal would ter- 
minate in a painful death. And yet he need not shrink 
from the prospect ; for, in death as in life, he should glorify 
God. 

How many of the most eminent and honoured of the 
servants of the Lord Jesus have been called to suffer for 
his name ! Their liberty has been taken away ; their 
goods have been spoiled; their persons incarcerated in 
the cheerless dungeon; their families have been perse- 
cuted in cruel and revolting forms ; their bodies have 
been tortured ; and then the rack, the stake, or the gibbet 
has closed the scene. 

But in these very circumstances of trial and affliction, 
the divinity of truth, the preciousness of Christ, and 
the triumphant power of his grace, have been most glo- 
riously manifested. The calm self-possession, the lofty 
faith, and the exultant joy of the martyred followers of 



254 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

Christ, have brought a vast revenue of glory to God. 
From many a prison-cell, from many a bloody cross, 
and from the midst of the devouring flame, songs of 
rapturous praise have risen to God. 

The results of these sufferings, also, have been over- 
ruled, so as to bring glory to God. " The blood of the 
martyrs has been the seed of the church." All Christian 
people are called to suffer, as well as to serve. But 
serving or suffering, living or dying, their ultimate aim 
is to glorify God. Whether they " follow Christ" in a 
course of obedience, or follow him to the cross, is a 
matter of secondaiy consideration, if they can but glorify 
God. 

"And when he had spoken this, he saith unto Peter, 
Follow me." As if he would tell him that his duty 
was the same under all circumstances. All his work 
was to follow Christ. All his usefulness depended on 
this. All his happiness would be secured by this. And 
Peter believed his Lord, — cheerfully submitted to his will. 
He entered the path pointed out to him ; and, although 
Christ showed him the bloody cross at the end of it, he 
followed on, and followed to the death. 



SCENE IX. 

HEALING A BEGGAR AT THE BEAUTIFUL GATE OF 
THE TEMPLE. 

" Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour 
of prayer, being the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from 
his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the 
gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of 
them that entered into the temple ; who seeing Peter and John 
about to go into the temple asked an alms. And Peter, fasten- 
ing his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he 
gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. 
Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none ; but such as I 
have give I thee : In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise 
up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted 
him up : and immediately his feet and ancle bones received 
strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered 
with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising 
God."— Acts ill. 1-8. 

We propose to conduct you, dear reader, by a some- 
what circuitous route, to this Beautiful Gate of the 
Temple. We proceed to Jerusalem, by way of Corinth, 
and gaze on the Beautiful Gate in the light of a burning 
city. 

In the palmy days of Corinth, it was by far the most 
splendid city in Greece. Sumptuous buildings of every 
description, comprising palaces and temples, theatres and 
porticoes, adorned it. No city was so rich in sculpture, 

s 



256 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEK. 

paintings, and works of art in the precious metals. The 
riches and magnificence of the city led to pride, luxury, 
effeminacy, and vice of every description among its 
inhabitants. 

About one hundred and forty-six years before Christ, 
this city was destroyed by the Eomans. After it was 
thoroughly pillaged, fire was set to all the comers of it at 
the same time. The flames grew more violent as they 
approached the centre, and at last, uniting there, made 
one prodigious conflagration. Various treasures, con- 
cealed and otherwise, were now discovered : quantities of 
gold, silver, and copper melted in the intense heat, and, 
mingling, ran down the streets in streams of insufferable 
brightness. When the flames were extinguished, a new 
metal was found, produced by the mixture of many, in 
this terrible fire. This new metal, which could never 
afterwards be imitated by art, received the name of 
" Corinthian brass," and was esteemed in after ages more 
precious than gold or silver. 

Now look at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple. It is 
made of this Corinthian brass. Josephus tells us there 
were nine gates to the temple, that they were all richly 
adorned with silver and gold, but that the one called 
" Beautiful " was more magnificent than any of the 
others, both as to its dimensions, and the material of 
which it was composed. The destruction of Corinth has 
furnished one of the richest ornaments of the temple of 
God. 



HEALING A BEGGAR AT THE GATE OF THE TEMPLE. 25 7 

To this gate a poor lame man was daily carried by his 
friends, that he might receive the charities of the multi- 
tude going to, and returning from, the temple. It has 
been observed, that among the ancients there were no 
hospitals for the afflicted, and no almshouses for the poor. 
The poor were therefore entirely dependent on the charity 
of those who were in better circumstances. And with a 
view to bring their case under the notice of as many 
persons as possible, the afflicted and the poor were set in 
all places of public resort. They were found on the high- 
ways, and at the gate of the rich man's dwelling, in any 
and every situation where they could attract attention, 
and solicit help. The Beautiful Gate of the Temple, 
through which hundreds and thousands of people were 
constantly passing, would be one of the most favourable 
places for begging; and that, not only from the multi- 
tudes frequenting it, but from their being, as we may 
fairly suppose, more or less under the influence of 
religious feeling, and thus inclined to acts of charity and 
kindness. Besides this, there was an influential class of 
persons among the Jews, who, loving the praise of men 
for their good deeds, were anxious to perform them in the 
most public places. The Pharisees " gave aims that they 
might be seen of men : " and such a resort as the 
Beautiful Gate of the Temple furnished the very finest 
opportunity for the ostentatious parade of their charity. 

The miraculous healing of this lame man is only one 
of the many signs and wonders which the Apostles 

s 2 



258 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

performed at Jerusalem. And, probably, this one is 
selected in consequence of the various particulars con- 
nected with it being so generally known to the people, 
and from its having produced so great a sensation in the 
public mind, — a sensation which is easily accounted for 
by the well-known peculiarities of the case; as, for 
example, the utter incurableness of the man by ordinary 
means, the impossibility of collusion or imposition, the 
instantaneous and perfect cure without the use of human 
means, and in the presence of multitudes who could not 
be deceived as to the fact. Nothing could be more 
complete, satisfactory, or manifestly divine; and the 
impression it produced was deep and wide among the 
inhabitants of Jerusalem. 

In general, it may be observed that the miracles 
wrought by the Apostles of our Lord were wrought in 
confirmation of the doctrines which they were commis- 
sioned to preach. And it will be recollected, that our 
Lord himself frequently referred to his miracles as sup- 
plying irrefragable evidence of the divinity of his mission 
and doctrine. "The words that I speak unto you, I 
speak not of myself; but the Father that dwelleth in me, 
he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, 
and the Father in me : or else believe me for the very 
works' sake." And now that the Apostles have gone 
forth in his name, and at his bidding, to preach the doc- 
trines he had taught them, he goes with them, " confirming 
the word by signs following." Apostolic miracles, there- 



HEALING A BEGGAE AT THE GATE OF THE TEMPLE. 259 

fore, were designed to establish, the truth of apostolic 
doctrine, and the divine authority of apostolic commis- 
sion. This evidence of miracles is as plain as it is con- 
clusive and satisfactory. If we see a man do that which 
is confessedly above and beyond the ordinary powers of 
nature, that which is only possible to Him who created all 
things, and who upholdeth all things by the word of his 
power, we cannot but conclude that God is with him, and 
testifies in this manner to the truth of what his servant 
says, and to the authority with which he says it. In this 
arrangement our faith is made to stand, not in the 
wisdom of man, but in the power of God. 

Wfi can easily see that miracles were necessary at the 
commencement of a new dispensation of truth and grace 
to the world ; and that the persons employed in the intro- 
duction of the new system, should be authenticated in this 
particular way ; but it by no means follows that a conti- 
nuance of those miracles is required. The divinely -inspired 
record of the miracles once wrought for such purposes is 
abundantly sufficient. If we are sure that the account is 
true, we are, for all practical purposes, in the same posi- 
tion as the persons before whose eyes the miracles were 
originally wrought. 

On this ground we are warranted to reject the lying 
wonders of a false and apostate church, and indignantly 
to repudiate her claims to the miracle-working power. A 
sufficient number of such prodigies were accomplished, 
and an account of them, absolutely true in all particulars, 



260 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

has been furnished to us, by the inspiration of Almighty 
God himself ; and nothing more in this line is called for ; 
nothing more is done. In regard to the alleged miracles 
of the Church of Borne, we do not trouble ourselves to 
point out the flimsiness of her claims, or to expose the 
trick and jugglery of her Priests and pseudo-saints. The 
day of miracles is past. They accomplished, by the will 
of God, their purpose, and were then withdrawn, as no 
longer needed. Away, then, with the hollow and impudent 
impostures of a Church which seeks to bolster up its pre- 
tensions, its falsehoods, and its villany ! We laugh at 
the puerility of a winking picture ; and any thing more 
serious in this line of things we denounce as a juggle and 
a cheat. 

We shall now proceed carefully to note the particulars 
of this miracle of healing ; the effect produced upon the 
public mind ; the sermon preached about it in Solomon's 
porch ; and the important consequences immediately 
resulting to the Apostles themselves. 

I. This miracle was wrought at the ninth hour, or 
about three in the afternoon. Evening prayer was offered 
up at this hour ; and the Apostles were accustomed daily 
to attend the devotional services of the temple. This 
they did with a view to the maintenance and increase of 
their personal piety, and also for the purpose of improving 
the opportunities afforded there, for preaching Christ and 
him crucified, to the multitudes who assembled for reli- 
gious worship. They were instant in season and out of 



HEALING A BEGGAE, AT THE GATE OF THE TEMPLE. 261 

season, and have left us an example every way worthy of 
imitation. 

The lame beggar who was daily laid at the Beautiful 
Gate of the Temple, must have been well known to the 
people who resorted thither : indeed, the mass of those 
who dwelt in Jerusalem, must have been familiar with his 
personal appearance, and with the nature of his affliction. 
Under these circumstances, therefore, they were in a posi- 
tion to judge satisfactorily of the realities of the miracle ; 
and it would be plainly impossible to impose either upon 
the man himself, or upon the multitudes who knew him. 
He had been " lame from his mother's womb." He had 
never been able to walk, and he was now above forty years 
of age. We have every reason to suppose, that, during 
this long period, all ordinary means had been employed, 
with a view to giving strength to his limbs, and curing 
him of his lameness. But every thing had failed. His 
case had become hopeless. The resources of the healing 
art had proved inadequate to his case, and he was a con- 
iirrned cripple. The only thing his friends could now do 
for him, was, somehow or other, to put him in the way of 
obtaining a supply of the necessaries of life. He was 
unable to earn a maintenance for himself: his friends 
were, probably, not in circumstances to support him ; and 
they therefore carried him daily to the gate of the temple, 
and laid him there, that he might have an opportunity of 
drawing upon public compassion. It cannot be doubted 
that, in such a case as this, a man is entitled to public 



262 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEK. 

support. Whether this particular way of procuring that 
support — begging at the gate of the temple — was the 
best way, may be fairly questioned. But it was the com- 
mon way of managing such matters among them, and we 
need not quarrel with it. 

This poor cripple, " seeing Peter and John about to go 
into the temple, asked an alms." It is doubtful whether 
he had any acquaintance with the Apostles, or knew who 
the two men were, who were now approaching him ; and 
we have no reason to suppose that he made application 
to them, with any idea that they were either more kindly 
disposed than others, or that they were better able to help 
him. He asked of them an alms, as he would haye done 
of any one else ; and all that he could expect to receive, 
was an ordinary charity. Nor, perhaps, would it be cor- 
rect to say, that he expected even that. He asked for it ; 
but it did not by any means follow that he should receive 
it. If it fared with him as it fares with a beggar 
among us, he no doubt oftener asked than he received ; 
and, if he had no personal knowledge of the Apostles, he 
would be about as well prepared for a denial as for an 
alms. 

We are the more careful to notice this particular, in 
order to show that this poor man's mind was not exercised 
in any unusual way, at the moment of making his request. 
This fact is of importance, as it contributes to place the 
miracle of healing which was now wrought upon him, 
above the range of those singular occurrences, illustrative 



HEALING A BEGGAR AT THE GATE OF THE TEMPLE. 263 

of the power of mind over matter, by which some, pro- 
fessing themselves to be wise above what is written, 
endeavour to explain the facts now nnder consideration. 
The poor man's mind was calm, — unmoved, except by the 
desire of charity. He was at the moment the subject of 
no unusual mental emotion : he was engaged in his every- 
day occupation : and, as far as his personal knowledge went, 
he was addressing his petition to two ordinary men, from 
whom he had nothing to look for but alms. 

We have no difficulty in admitting, that the mental 
emotions have a powerful influence upon the physical sys- 
tem; that a highly-excited imagination exerts a myste- 
rious power over the body; and especially when that 
excitement has been suddenly produced. As, for example, 
by the abrupt communication of some terrible calamity, or 
by the sudden discovery of some frightful danger, or by 
the unexpected hearing of some extraordinary piece of 
good news. In such circumstances, the passion of grief, 
or fear, or joy, is intensely, and we might say, as to 
degree, unnaturally excited. The individual may be, for 
the time at least, superior to the feeling of bodily infirmity, 
pain, or disease ; nor do we scruple to admit the truth of 
certain accounts, which show that, not only a temporary, 
but a permanent, cure of infirmity or disease has followed 
upon this suddenly-produced and extreme excitement, 
But when we are asked to explain the wonderful things 
recorded in the New Testament on this principle, and to 
give up all idea of the exercise of a divine power, we musfe 



264 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEK. 

beg to be excused. Our faith., or rather our credulity, is 
not sufficient for this. The cause assigned is altogether 
inadequate to the effect produced. It is impossible to 
account for the blind receiving sight, and the dead being 
raised, on any such principle as this. And we are com- 
pelled, in reading over the sacred narratives of these 
wonderful works, to say with the magicians of Egypt, 
when they saw the results of their enchantments, immea- 
surably distanced by those which followed the uplifting of 
the rod of Moses and Aaron, " This is the finger of God." 

But, at any rate, the case before us must be explained 
upon a different principle from that to which we have 
now alluded. Here, there was no mental excitement at 
all; no sudden emotion, or highly-wrought imagination. 
The beggar was in his ordinary state of mind ; and neither 
thought of, nor wished for, any thing out of the ordinary 
way. He asked alms of Peter and John ; and when they 
said to him in reply, " Look on us," he did so, " expecting 
to receive something of them," such as he was accustomed 
to receive of the kind and charitable. 

Nor was there in this particular instance the exercise of 
faith, so far as the man himself was concerned. It is very 
likely, indeed, that he might have heard of Christ and of 
his wondrous works. But whether he believed in Christ, 
we have no means of knowing. The probability is that 
he did not. And we are quite sure that, up to this point 
in the narrative, there was no faith in the Lord Jesus 
thought of. And even when Peter had said to him, " In 



HEALING A BEGGAR AT THE GATE OF THE TEMPLE. 265 

the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk, 55 he 
does not appear to have been particularly moved. He did 
not promptly respond ; he made no effort to rise up, as 
we gather from the account, until " Peter took him by 
the hand and lifted him up." All the faith exercised was 
that of the Apostles. The man was merely passive ; and 
we are shut up to the conclusion, that the cure of his lame- 
ness was the result of a power altogether extraneous to, 
and independent of, himself. 

Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, 
" Look on us." The Apostles' intense and meaning look, 
together with the words accompanying it, immediately 
arrested the beggar's attention, and awakened his hope. 
" He gave heed unto them, expecting," naturally enough, 
" to receive something of them." And not only was the 
poor man's expectation reasonable in itself, but we may 
fairly suppose that it would be all the greater from the 
formality of Peter's manner and address. These were 
calculated, not merely to make the beggar think that 
Peter and his companion were about to give him some- 
thing, but something out of the usual way ; an alms much 
greater than he was accustomed to receive. He may look 
for, not a mite, or a farthing, but at least a denarius ; per- 
haps even more than that. 

How strangely, then, must the words of Peter have 
sounded in the poor cripple's ears ! How damaging to 
his hopes ! " Silver and gold have I none." Peter told 
him in effect, that, in respect of money, he was as poor as 



266 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PEtER. 

himself. And being so, we may observe, that it would 
have been most cruel on the part of Peter, to have led 
this man to hope for money when he had none to give 
him, if he had not felt assured that he had it in his power 
to satisfy the man with something unspeakably more valu- 
able. One is tempted, for a moment, to speculate upon 
the beggar's thoughts, when he heard Peter say, " Silver 
and gold have I none." "What does the man mean? 
Does he intend to mock me in my sorrow? It is true 
that I am only a poor cripple, supported by public charity ; 
but surely that gives no right to insult me, or to this man 
so cruelly to tantalize me. Why did he deliberately create 
an expectation which he knew he had no means of gratify- 
ing ? If, when I spoke to him, he had gone on his way, 
without condescending to notice me at all, that would 
only have been what I am used to ; if he had passed 
through the gate into the temple without heeding my 
application, he would only have done as many others daily 
do, and I should have thought no more of him. Many 
persons go past me while I sit here, too proud to notice 
me at all. Others pass by me with averted eyes ; they 
are evidently offended at the sight of a cripple-beggar 
lying at this beautiful gate. They pass me, as if my 
presence was a wrong, my appearance an offence, my 
touch pollution ; they pass by me on the other side. But 
this man looked kindly on me, and replied to my petition ; 
he bade me look on him and his companion, and what 
else could I suppose, but that he was about to give me 



HEALING A BEGGAK AT THE GATE OF THE TEMPLE. 267 

something? Yet now he says to me, 'Silver and gold 
have I none.' I thought there was kindness in his heart, 
bnt there is cruelty ; I thought his words betokened good, 
but I am disappointed. why does he thus so unfeel- 
ingly mock me?" 

Leave we the beggar for a while to his troubled 
thoughts ; and let us consider Peter's words, " Silver and 
gold have I none." Was Peter singular in his poverty? 
Ear from it. God hath chosen the poor of this world. 
Multitudes of his children, whom he favours with his 
richest spiritual blessings, are, with respect to temporal 
things, in a position to adopt the Apostle's language. 
And do we not know that many of the most distinguished 
servants of Christ have been found in the lower walks of 
life ? Have not many of the holiest, most gifted, and useful 
among men, been so limited in their worldly resources, as 
to be distressed by scenes of suffering and destitution, 
which they were compelled to witness, but were unable to 
relieve ? They would not withhold the tear of sympathy, 
the word of comfort and of hope, the fervent prayer to 
heaven in their behalf; but tears, and words, and prayers 
were, alas ! all they had to give. It would be their joy to 
clothe the naked, feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, 
and minister to the sick ; but they have not the means ; 
they are compelled to say, " Silver and gold have we 
none." 

" Silver and gold have I none :" this was the language 
of an Apostle ^* Tesus Christ. The servant is, in this 



268 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEH. 

particular, as his Master. " The foxes have holes," said 
Peter's Lord, " and the birds of the air have nests, but 
the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head." Never- 
theless, the poverty of Peter did not interrupt him in the 
prosecution of his evangelical labours ; it did not lessen, 
in any way, his eminent qualifications for the duties of his 
sacred office ; it did not hinder him from being successful 
in winning souls to Christ. Was St. Peter less wise, or 
less gifted ; was his ministry less edifying or powerful, 
because he was poor ? Nothing of the kind. And why 
should the ministry of the man, in our day, who has risen 
from the ranks of the poor, be less attractive than that of 
the respectable man, — the man of wealth and of family ? 
Or why, because, according to the arrangements of the 
church, he occupies a subordinate position, with restricted 
means, should his ministerial services be more lightly 
esteemed, than those of his richer and more elevated 
neighbour? The poor Curate's preaching may be not 
only equal, but, in every important respect, it may even 
be superior, to that of the Hector, the Dean, or the 
Bishop. 

" Silver and gold have I none :" so said the Prince of 
the Apostles, the Plead of the Church, and the Vice- 
gerent of Christ. How stands the matter with his pre- 
tended successor ? Plas the man who seals with the seal 
of the fisherman succeeded to the fisherman's poverty? 
Is he of Home in a condition to say, " Silver and gold 
have I none ? " Par from it. Thomas Aquinas, surnamed 



HEALING A BEGGAR AT THE GATE OF THE TEMPLE. 269 

" the Angelical Doctor," who was highly esteemed by Pope 
Innocent IV., going one day into the Pope's chamber, 
where they were reckoning large sums of money, the Pope, 
addressing himself to Aquinas, said, " You see that the 
church is no longer in an age in which she can say, ' Sil- 
ver and gold have I none' " " It is true, holy lather," 
replied the Angelical Doctor; "nor can she now say to 
the lame man, ' Rise up and walk.' " This sharp and truth- 
ful answer must have greatly disturbed the serenity of His 
Holiness the Pope. The Eomish Bishop is any thing but 
poor. Indeed, we may venture to assert, that if the being 
able to say, " Silver and gold have I none," were an indis- 
pensable qualification, there would be few candidates for 
St. Peter's chair. The Pope of Eome — the so-called 
successor of St. Peter — has wealth enough at his com- 
mand to feed and clothe all the beggars in Christendom, 
and that for life. His study has been to make himself, 
and the church with which he has to do, as unlike St. 
Peter as possible. Neither he, nor the army of Cardinals, 
Archbishops, Bishops, or Priests, who serve under him, 
have any idea of serving for nothing. They neither speak 
nor act without a fee. " No penny, no paternoster" has 
been Pome's principle of action for ages ; and she has 
managed to acquire possession and control of silver and 
gold in abundance. Her Priests will forgive sins, but 
only for money ; they will free souls from the pains of 
purgatory, but not without money. A system of taxation, 
barter, and extortion, fills the coffers of Pome, and drains 



270 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

and impoverishes her dupes, from baptism till death. 
"The labourer is worthy of his meat:" so said the 
Eedeemer ; and it is the Church's duty to maintain the 
ministry of Christ. The men whom he has set over you, 
— who care and watch for your souls, — should be provided 
for. The Lord hath ordained that they " who preach the 
Gospel, should live of the Gospel." The men of this 
sacred calling may reasonably say, " If we have sown unto 
you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap 
your camal things?" But when the office is filled for a 
morsel of bread ; when the love of filthy lucre predomi- 
nates ; when the fleece is more cared for than the flock ; 
when things sacred are sold for gain ; when the merce- 
nary Priest grinds and extorts at the bedside of the dying; 
when he outrages all the charities of the Gospel, and 
threatens to permit the departed spirit to endure the fan- 
cied tortures of burning and freezing, in purgatory, for 
ever, unless the fees are forthcoming ; then away with 
him ! — Peter knows nothing of him ; there can be no con- 
nexion between a man like this and 'the Apostle of whom 
we speak. 

But we must proceed with Peter's address to the 
beggar, " Silver and gold have I none ; but such as I have, 
give I thee." The man asked for alms ; he expected 
nothing else, and probably would be at a loss to imagine 
what else could be given to him that would be of service. 
Little thought he of his lameness being cured, or of those 
spiritual blessings with which the Apostle, as the servant 



HEALING A BEGGAR AT THE GATE OF THE TEMPLE. 271 

of Christ, could enrich liirn. A priceless boon was about 
to be conferred, — a work to be wrought upon him, exceed- 
ing all the skill and power of mortals to accomplish, — a 
work divine : but the beggar dreamed not of this. There 
stood before him only two men in humble garb, who, 
according to their own confession, were, in regard to pecu- 
niary resources, as poor as he was himself. What could 
he expect ? If he judged according to appearances, he had 
nothing to expect ; but if he had known that these two 
men were Apostles of Jesus Christ, he would have been 
warranted to look for every thing that was good. 

" In the name of Jesus Christ of Xazareth." Peter 
assumes no personal authority, claims no virtue of his 
own : he speaks and acts as the delegate of another. He 
exercises faith in the Redeemer s promise, made just before 
he ascended into heaven : "In my name shall they cast 
out devils ; they shall speak with new tongues ; they shall 
take up serpents ; and if they drink any deadly thing, it 
shall not hint them ; they shall lay hands on the sick, and 
they shall recover." (Mark xvi. 17, 18.) Peter wills the 
healing of this man, but he wills it in the name of Christ ; 
that is to say, by the authority of Christ, or by the means 
of power derived from him. A remarkable difference is 
thus manifest, between the manner in which Christ 
wrought miracles, and that in which his Apostles wrought 
them. He acted on his own authority; wrought the 
wonders by his own power: but the Apostles wrought 
them in his name. He was "Lord of all;' 5 possessed of 

T 



272 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

" all power in heaven and in earth :" bnt they only acted 
by his authority, and never took any credit to themselves 
for that which they accomplished in the capacity of ser- 
vants to another, and by the means of another's power. 
They were jealous for their Master's honour, and carefully 
ascribed to him the praise of every wondrous work. 

An attentive reader of the Gospels cannot fail to observe 
the singularity of some of the commands addressed by 
Christ to persons in whose favour he was about to work 
a miracle. He often required them to do the very thing 
which the nature of their infirmity rendered physically 
impracticable : as, for example, in the case of the man 
with the withered hand. Christ said to him, " Stretch 
forth thy hand;" thus bidding him to do the thing which 
he had not been able to do for years, — the thing, perhaps, 
he had never done in his life ; and for power to do which 
the humble and earnest application was now being made. 
So here, the Apostles, acting by the authority of Christ, 
imitate his example in this particular, and bid the lame 
man " rise up and walk." The man who had been lame 
from his mother's womb, the man who had never once 
walked in all his life, is told to "rise up and walk." He 
is about to be cured of his lameness ; but the very first 
thing to be done, in the order of effecting the cure, is 
that which is only practicable when the cure is wrought. 
Before any change has passed upon him, before any means 
have been employed for his recovery, and before any strength 
is given to him, they say to him, " Rise up and walk." 



HEALING A BEGGAR AT THE GATE OF THE TEMPLE. 273 

Should we have been surprised if he had answered to 
this strange command ? — " I have no power to do so. Why 
do you trine with me ? Why do you unfeelingly taunt 
me with my lameness ? You know that I cannot rise up, 
— that for me to walk is impossible." He might have 
spoken thus in reply, and with manifest plausibility. But 
he knew better; and, instead of demurring, he tried ; instead 
of arguing, he obeyed ; and the cure was instantly effected. 

And is it not thus also with regard to moral and spi- 
ritual duties ? Though altogether incapacitated for them 
by our sin, we yet are told to do them ; and the doing of 
them is essential to our deliverance from sin. The sinner 
is commanded to repent, to believe, to turn from sin, and 
to lead a holy life. Now all these are quite as impracti- 
cable to the sinner, as to " rise up and walk " was to this 
lame beggar. Nevertheless, it is our duty to do these 
things, because God bids us to do them ; and, obeying his 
commandments, we shall find them, though naturally diffi- 
cult, graciously easy ; our attempts will be as truly suc- 
cessful as was that of this lame man to "rise up and 
walk." Nor is there any thing unreasonable in this. He 
who bestows upon us blessings of which we are wholly 
undeserving, has an undoubted right to bestow those 
blessings in his own way ; and to prescribe such things 
as may serve to test our submission to his authority, and 
our confidence in his love and power. At the same time, 
we may be well assured that what he enjoins upon us, 
he will graciously enable us to do. He is not " an hard 

T 2 



274 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

master, reaping where he has not sown, and gathering 
where he has not strawed." He bids the weak accomplish 
a feat of strength, but then he gives him strength to do it. 
That which he commands, though physically impracticable, 
he gives us grace to accomplish without difficulty. And, 
perhaps, w^e shall not greatly err, if we regard the action 
with which Peter accompanied his words to the cripple, 
as significant of this : " He took him by the right hand, 
and lifted him up." There w^as nothing in thus taking 
him by the hand, to effect the cure ; but it w T as in some 
sort an intimation of the help he should receive from 
Christ, by wdiose pow-er he was about to be healed. 

"Immediately his feet and ancle-bones received strength; 
and he, leaping up, stood, and walked, and entered w T ith 
them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising 
God." The cure w T as instantaneous and complete. Irre- 
fragable proofs were given on the spot. The lame man at 
once did every thing to demonstrate the miraculous change. 
He rose up, he stood, he walked, he leaped, and gave 
the praise to God. Here was a literal fulfilment of Isaiah's 
prophecy : <c Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, 
and the tongue of the dumb sing." It has been well 
observed, that there was more in this miracle than merely 
giving strength. The art of walking is slowly learned in 
ordinary cases ; long practice is necessary to acquire it. 
Eut the work of Christ is perfect : he imparts strength ; 
and, in the same moment, the man who had been lame 
from his mother's womb, is able to walk. 



HEALING A BEGGAB. AT THE GATE OF THE TEMPLE. 275 

This whole account is natural, and beautifully simple. 
The poor man, exulting in his newly-acquired strength, 
pours out the fulness of his heart in praise to God. 
Elastic, sound, and vigorous, he leaps or walks ; and, 
instinctively feeling that the power which had wrought so 
marvellous a change upon him was divine, he enters the 
temple, and, with a gladsome heart, presents his offering 
of grateful love to Him who had made him whole. Peter 
and John have been the instruments of doing him this 
great service; but, conscious that they had not healed 
him by their own power, he gives the praise at once to 
Him in whose name they had professedly wrought this 
miracle. Our good is all divine ; all glory therefore be to 
God. Whether temporal or spiritual blessings fall to our 
lot, his hand bestows them : to him give thanks. With 
regard to the blessings of salvation, the light, the peace, 
the love, the hope, and joy of the Gospel, though brought 
to us by the instrumentality of our fellow-men, are all the 
gifts of God. " Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, 
but Ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord 
gave to every man?" 

We can more easily imagine than describe the effect 
produced by this miracle upon the minds of those who 
witnessed it, and upon the public mind at large. " They 
were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had 
happened." In the circumstances of the case there was 
every thing to convince the judgment, and to affect the 
heart ; and we cannot wonder that a most profound 



276 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

sensation was awakened among the inhabitants of Jeru- 
salem. The man was well known; his lameness was 
unquestioned ; he could not be imposed upon : there was 
no opportunity for collusion on the part of the Apostles ; 
the thing was done in broad day-light, in the most 
public place and manner, in the presence of a multitude 
of people : there was, in fact, no possibility of deception ; 
and at the same time it was plainly impossible that this 
cure could have been effected by ordinary or natural 
means. The hand of God was manifestly in it : his 
power had been remarkably put forth, and the people 
gave glory to his name. The men who were the most 
competent to form a correct judgment, could not deny 
the fact, could not say any thing against it. The Priests 
and the Sadducees were most anxious to detect any flaw 
in the case, to find out any thing which might help to 
justify their unbelief and opposition : but they searched 
and laboured in vain. The most rigid scrutiny was 
instituted : but no room could be found for the carping 
and cavils of an infidel. There was no degree of uncer- 
tainty as to the facts. There was no lack of witnesses, 
and nothing against their credibility. There was no 
doubtfulness as to the effect produced upon the man : all 
was clear, full, conclusive, and most satisfactory; so 
much so, that, against their wish, against their will, and 
against their malice, they unanimously agreed in this, 
their recorded verdict : " That a notable miracle hath been 
done by them, is manifest to all them that dwell at Jeru- 



HEALING A BEGGAR AT THE GATE OF THE TEMPLE. 277 

salem; and we cannot deny it." Their inveterate pre- 
judice against Christ, and their malignant opposition to 
his doctrine, would have led them to deny this miracle, 
if they could have done so on any pretext whatsoever. 

In noticing the effect produced in the public mind by 
this miracle, we are naturally led to compare it with the 
effect produced by the miracles of Christ. Certainly, some 
of those were more extraordinary than even this ; but no 
such deep and wide-spread conviction seized upon the 
minds of men. A few believed; but the multitude 
remained in unbelief. The people were "amazed, and 
wondered greatly," at the things they saw; but they did 
not generally, as in this instance, glorify God. May we 
not suppose that the more plentiful influence of the Holy 
Spirit, subsequent to the Day of Pentecost, disposed the 
understandings of men to receive the truth more readily, 
and rendered their hearts more susceptible of divine 
impressions, so that they were more deeply affected by a 
miracle now than they were then? They understood it 
better, and felt the force of the appeal which it made to 
them in behalf of Christ, whose power and grace were 
thus exemplified. 

" As the lame man which was healed held Peter and 
John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch 
that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering." Before we 
listen to Peter's sermon, it may be well to notice the 
place in which he delivered it. The temple of God at 
Jerusalem, with all the courts pertaining to it, was sur- 



278 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

rounded by a massive wall of great height. On the 
inside of this wall, and between the gates which led into 
the temple, were various covered walks, piazzas, or 
porches. These porches varied in width from twenty to 
forty feet, and were paved with marble of various colours. 
Their costly cedar roofs were supported by numerous 
marble pillars of immense size and beautiful workman- 
ship. These galleries, or porches, afforded an agreeable 
shade from the scorching sun, and a covert from the wind 
and rain. The porch called " Solomon's " was situated 
on the east side, and was distinguished from all the others 
by its grandeur and beauty. 

Into this piazza, capable of containing hundreds of 
people, the crowd now rushed, that they might gaze upon 
the man so marvellously healed, and upon the men who 
by the power of God had performed so signal a miracle. 
It is very likely that many of these persons were only 
influenced by curiosity ; but there were others, and 
probably not a few, whose minds were divinely and 
deeply impressed, and who were therefore in a state of 
gracious preparation to listen with advantage to Peter's 
appropriate and masterly discourse. A large congrega- 
tion was soon gathered in the porch, and our Apostle had 
a glorious opportunity of preaching Jesus. Nor did he 
fail in the due improvement of it. He preached a noble 
and effective sermon. His word was with power, and 
with the Holy Ghost * and many were converted that day 
in Solomon's porch. The text which St. Peter preached 



HEALING A BEGGAR AT THE GATE OF THE TEMPLE. 279 

from was this miracle of healing : lie pointed to the man 
no longer a cripple, but restored to perfect soundness, and 
told them by what power the good deed had been 
accomplished ; only first disclaiming all personal virtue, 
and endeavouring to remove a false impression, which he 
had reason to believe had been produced. Every eye in 
that vast assembly was turned earnestly upon Peter and 
John. The intense gaze of wonder and of admiration 
seemed to indicate that the people thought the Apostles 
more than men; that they were regarded as transcen- 
dently superior to all others ; and therefore were they able 
to put forth this mighty power. But Peter would not 
suffer them to labour under this misapprehension. He 
was jealous for his Master's honour, and began his 
address by saying, " Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at 
this ? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our 
own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?" 
What a fine opportunity for an impostor, — for one who 
sought only selfish ends, who was labouring for reputa- 
tion, influence, and wealth ! The people were now dis- 
posed to give the Apostles all the credit : but the Apostles 
were not disposed to take it, or any pari of it. And 
Peter at once corrected their mistake. He had no power 
to do a thing like this ; and the power by which he had 
instrument ally done it, was not delegated to him because 
of his superior piety. They must not, therefore, think of 
Peter and his companion at all, but only of Him in whose 
name the miracle had been wrought. 



280 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

Peter would have them understand that he was not a 
setter forth of strange gods : he spoke to them of the only 
living and true God, " the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, 
and of Jacob, the God of our fathers." He tells them 
that he whom they delighted to call their God, had glorified 
his Son Jesus in the very miracle which had so awakened 
their admiration. He declares their grievous sin in deny- 
ing the Lord Jesus, in demanding his punishment, even 
after his innocence had been established, and Pilate his 
Judge, finding no fault in him, was determined to let him 
go. Jesus was "the Holy One and the Just;" but they 
had wickedly preferred a murderer to him, and killed 
" the Prince of life." He tells them farther that this 
same Jesus had been raised from the dead, and had by his 
power achieved the miracle of healing which they had just 
witnessed : " His name, through faith in his name, hath 
made this man strong, whom ye see and know : yea, the 
faith which is by him hath given him this perfect sound- 
ness in the presence of you all." 

Having thus set forth their sin, and exhibited the vari- 
ous aggravating circumstances under which it had been 
committed, he then, with the most touching tenderness, 
addresses them as his " brethren," and puts in a plea in 
mitigation of their enormous guilt : "I wot that through 
ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers." They were 
ignorant of the character and claims of him whom they 
had so unworthily and so unjustly treated. Their crime 
was great; but some palliation is found in the fact of 



HEALING A BEGGAR AT THE GATE OF THE TEMPLE. 281 

their ignorance. Peter pleads here in the spirit of his 
Divine Master, who, amid the agonies of death upon the 
cross, prayed, saying, " Father, forgive them ; for they 
know not what they do." 

It is, indeed, true that they might have been better 
informed. They ought to have known Christ. He had 
given them sufficient proof of his Messiahship ; and they 
ought to have received him as the Anointed of God, and 
the Saviour of the world. But their minds were filled 
with prejudice : the god of this world had blinded them. 
They were grievously disappointed in their expectation as 
to Messiah's character and office. They looked for a 
temporal Prince. They expected Messiah to come in 
regal splendour and power ; that he would deliver their 
nation from the Piomish yoke, and exalt it to grandeur 
among the kingdoms of the earth. But how different 
was the advent and the character of him who claimed to 
be the long foretold and looked for ! He rose out of 
obscurity ; he was meek and lowly ; he was poor among 
men ; he set up a kingdom purely spiritual, abrogated the 
Mosaic economy, and predicted the destruction of the 
temple, and the termination of the Jewish nation and 
polity. Their fond hopes were thus dashed to the 
ground, their national vanity was deeply wounded, and 
all their religious prejudices were shocked. And then, 
headed by the Priests, they met the anointed Saviour 
with violent, inveterate, and malignant opposition, nor 
ceased till they had nailed him to the cross. A thick veil 



282 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEE. 

came over their hearts, and they knew not " the Lord of 
glory." St. Paul gives us to understand that, had they 
known, they would not have crucified him. (1 Cor. ii. 8.) 

Peter takes the fact of their ignorance as an abatement 
from their fearful crime, but not as exonerating them from 
guilt. His depiction of their sin is most vivid, and his 
grouping of the various aggravations of it most appalling. 
Then comes the earnest exhortation, "Bepent ye there- 
fore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, 
when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence 
of the Lord." To encourage them in their application 
for mercy, he reminds them of God's peculiar favour 
towards them as his chosen people : "Ye are the children 
of the Prophets, and of the covenant which God made 
with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed 
shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed." And now 
Peter's earnest and powerful sermon draws to a close. 
The last words are, "Unto you first," — in fulfilment of 
the Saviour's instructions to preach repentance and the 
remission of sins among all nations, "beginning at Jeru- 
salem," — "Unto you first God, having raised up his Son 
Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of 
you from his iniquities." 

How much longer the earnest and eloquent preacher 
might have continued his discourse, we have no means or 
determining ; but he was suddenly and violently inter- 
rupted. The breathless stillness pervading the congrega- 
tion in Solomon's porch, as they hung upon the impas- 



HEALING A BEGGAE AT THE GATE OF THS TEMPLE. 283 

sioned words of Peter, was disturbed by the measured 
tramp of advancing soldiery. The Captain of the temple, 
accompanied by his guard, came to arrest the preacher. 
The whole scene changes in a moment. Peter's voice is 
hushed, — the crowd disperses, — the Apostles are seized, 
and the guard marches them off to prison. 

But how is this? What offence have the Apostles 
committed ? Why should such good men be imprisoned ? 
Why ? Because they, being only Galilean fishermen, have 
presumed to teach the people, that being the exclusive 
work and prerogative of the Priest. Unauthorized 
teachers must not be allowed; the priestly province and 
order must not be invaded by unlettered and unofficial 
men. " Why put them in prism ?" Ask the Sadducee 
this question; and he will tell you, it is because these 
men preach the doctrine of the resurrection, which the 
Sadducees altogether disbelieve. Peter and his companion 
say, that Jesus is risen from the dead ; and they adduce a 
variety of argument and proof in support of their statement. 
The men must be silenced, or the people will be convinced. 
Do not listen to them, do not argue with them, put them 
in prison, and so make an end of it. 

Poor misguided men ! They thought they could bind 
the truth by binding its Ministers ; that they could pre- 
vent the conversion of the people by incarcerating the 
Preacher. But he that sat in the heavens laughed at 
them : the Almighty had them in derision. Probably 
these Priests and Sadducees had made all haste to the 



284 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEK. 

tower of Antonia, where the soldiers were stationed ; and, 
by alleging that a tumult was likely to be raised among the 
people by the preaching of the Apostles, had succeeded in 
getting the temple-guard to interfere and take the offender 
into custody. Nevertheless, whatever haste they might have 
made, the mischief which they had apprehended was already 
done ; the Holy Spirit had carried home the truth to the 
hearts of the people, so that " many of them that heard the 
word believed." There is neither counsel nor might against 
the truth and the Spirit of God. The Gospel of Christ 
will prevail against civil, ecclesiastical, and military power. 
All men shall know the truth, and by it be made free. 

On the following morning Peter and John were exa- 
mined before the Great Council ; and, in answer to the ques- 
tion proposed to them, " By what power, or by what name, 
have ye done this ?" Peter, "filled with the Holy Ghost," 
made an admirable and triumphant defence : "Ye Rulers 
of the people, and Elders of Israel, if we this day be exa- 
mined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what 
means he is made whole ; be it known unto you all, and 
to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ 
of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from 
the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before 
you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of 
you builders, which has become the head of the corner. 
Neither is there salvation in any other : for there is none 
other name under heaven given among men, whereby we 
must be saved." 



HEALING A BEGGAR AT THE GATE OF THE TEMPLE. 2S5 

On hearing this address, the Council was utterly con- 
founded. They had no reply to make. The facts which 
had been set forth were undoubted. The arguments 
based upon those facts were resistless ; and conscience 
corroborated the whole. What could they do ? They had 
no reasons to advance; but they had authority. They 
were without argument, but not without power. They 
dared not punish, for fear of the people ; but they could 
command and threaten. And they did so : " They com- 
manded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name 
of Jesus." But the Apostles were not to be intimidated ; 
and they said, cc Whether it be right in the sight of God 
to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For 
we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and 
heard." 

We have now, as proposed, glanced at the particulars 
of this miracle ; at the effect produced upon the public 
mind; at the sermon preached about it in Solomon's 
porch ; and at the consequences immediately resulting to 
the Apostles themselves : and, were it not that we have 
already reached the limit assigned to these observations, 
we should endeavour to make a useful application of the 
whole. As it is, we will only add, that the Apostles, 
while rendering obedience to the word of Christ, carefully 
imitated his example, and were instant in season and out 
of season, trying to do good to the bodies, as well as to 
the souls, of men. They had not worldly wealth; but 
they had that which was infinitely more valuable, — the 



2S6 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

unsearchable riches of Christ. These they had freely 
received ; and they freely gave. 

Many of us may say, " Silver and gold have we none ;" 
but we are not therefore excused from the exercise of a 
divine charity. The soul of man is more precious than 
the body. The interests of the soul are of far higher 
moment than are those of the body. The evils that afflict 
the body are great; but the miseries of the soul are 
unspeakably greater. If, then, you are poor in regard to 
this world's goods, bring out your spiritual treasures, and 
bestow them generously. Tell men of a Saviour's love ; 
guide them to him, in whose salvation they will find a 
"joy unspeakable and full of glory." Say to them what 
St. Peter said to the lame beggar : " Such as I have give 
I thee. 55 



SCENE X. 

KNEELING IN THE UPPER CHAMBER BY THE DEAD 
BODY OF DORCAS. 

" Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which 
by interpretation is called Dorcas : this woman was full of good 
works and almsdeeds which she did. And it came to pass in 
those days, that she was sick, and died : whom when they had 
washed, they laid her in an upper chamber. And forasmuch as 
Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter 
was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he 
would not delay to come to them. Then Peter arose and went 
with them. "When he was come, they brought him into the 
upper chamber : and all the widows stood by him weeping, and 
showing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she 
was with them. But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled 
down, and prayed ; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, 
arise. And she opened her eyes : and when she saw Peter, she 
sat up. And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when 
he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive. And 
it was known throughout all Joppa ; and many believed in the 
Lord."— Acts ix. 36-42. 

While reading the sacred accounts of former times, 
and more especially those which relate to the supernatural 
appearances, and the wonderful transactions, then so com- 
mon, we not unfrequently experience a feeling like regret 
that such prodigies are now all passed away, and probably 
for ever. No cloud of the Divine Presence now is seen, 
no voice from the excellent glory heard. The stupendous 

u 



SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

miracles which awakened the astonishment of men, con- 
straining them to say, " We never saw it on this fashion ; 
this is the power of God," have ceased. The written 
record of these things alone survives to us. Would that 
we could have listened to the discourses of men made for 
the time infallible by the immediate inspiration of God ! 
Would that we could have seen the mighty deeds by 
which their doctrine was declared to be divine ! But all 
such regret is utterly vain : nothing remains but the 
inspired account. And is not that enough ? That there 
is no more, is proof sufficient that no more is needed. If 
we had seen and heard all that is now referred to, we 
could not have secured more real benefit than is to be 
secured by the devout and believing use of the written 
word. Accompanied, as that is, by a divine and all- 
hallowing influence, it is made to answer the same moral 
and spiritual purposes with respect to us, as were 
answered by the things themselves with respect to the 
individuals who heard and witnessed them. If it were 
possible for us now to see and hear such wondrous 
things, they could not make us more than "wise unto 
salvation : " they could not enable us to do more than 
rejoice with a "joy unspeakable and full of glory : " 
they could not more than throughly furnish us unto 
ever}' good word and work. But all this is happily done 
for us by the oracles of truth, the divinely-inspired records 
of what was said and done in other days. " Blessed," 
said one of the privileged to Christ, "Blessed is the 



KNEELING BY THE DEAD BODY OF DORCAS. 289 

womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast 
sucked. But he said, Yea, rather, blessed are they 
that hear the word of God, and keep it." (Luke xi. 
27, 28.) 

There is another consideration which is quite sufficient 
to reconcile us to the absence of those wondrous things ; 
and it is this : although the material and visible signs 
with which the word was formerly confirmed have ceased, 
the Lord Jesus is still with his church, and with his ser- 
vants, accomplishing through their means a variety of 
spiritual wonders. By the power of the Holy Ghost he 
brings dead souls to life ; and it may be safely affirmed 
that the achievements of his grace are as glorious now as 
were those of his power in days gone by. 

There is much in the deeply-interesting narrative now 
before us calculated to instruct, admonish, and encourage, 
in connexion with the ordinary affairs of human life. 
Such scenes as are here described — scenes comprising 
poverty and sickness, death and bereavement — are being 
constantly presented. We have not to travel far from 
our own door at any time, in order to reach a house of 
mourning, such as that was at Joppa when visited by St. 
Peter. But, alas ! we cannot always find so many joyous 
things with which to assuage our grief, as were found in 
the house of Dorcas. The deep shadows of the picture 
are not always relieved by the striking and brilliant lights 
which appear in this particular case. Christian love and 
active piety, effectual prayer and triumphant faith, are so 

u 2 



290 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEK. 

many gleams of sunlight upon the dark cloud of sorrow 
overshadowing the house at Joppa. 

Our observations upon this account will relate to the 
scene of the miracle, — "Joppa;" the subject of the 
miracle, — "Dorcas;" the way in which the miracle was 
wrought, — " He put them forth, and kneeled down, and 
prayed;" the effect of the miracle on the inhabitants of 
the place, — " Many believed in the Lord." 

I. Joppa, or, as it is now called, Japho, or Jaffa, is 
one of the most ancient towns of Asia. The researches 
of some authors in connexion with its history would 
carry us back to an almost fabulous antiquity. It is 
alleged to have been built by Japhet, Noah's youngest 
son, and from him to have received its name. But, with- 
out believing all this, the town certainly existed, and as a 
sea-port, at a very early period of the world's history. It 
is situated on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean 
Sea, between Csesarea and Gaza, and is about forty miles 
north-west of Jerusalem. Classical, historical, and sacred 
associations gather round ancient Joppa, and give it an 
interest which otherwise so miserable and insignificant a 
town could not possibly possess. 

It was here that Andromeda, the daughter of Cepheus, 
was chained to a rock, and exposed to be devoured by a 
sea-monster, from which she was delivered by the valour 
of Perseus. It was to Joppa, as the port of Jerusalem in 
the days of Solomon, that all the materials employed in 
building the temple were brought from Tyre, and thence 



KNEELING BY THE DEAD BODY OF DORCAS. 291 

conveyed by land to Jerusalem. It was to Joppa that 
Jonah fled from the presence of the Lord, and from 
thence he embarked in a ship for Tarshish, on that 
memorable voyage. 

The town of Joppa is built on a bold headland, jutting 
out into the sea ; and from its elevated position may be 
seen a variety of picturesque and beautiful prospects. 
There is still a considerable trade earned on between it and 
the neighbouring towns, — though trifling, when compared 
with that of former times. The present population of the 
place is some four or five thousand. The greater part of 
the inhabitants is composed of Turks and Arabs : there 
are also some six hundred Christians belonging to the 
various denominations of Papists, Greeks, Maronites, 
and Armenians. 

The country round about Joppa is very beautiful. 
Nature appears in some of her most luxuriant dresses ; 
and scenes of fertility and picturesque beauty present 
themselves on every hand. But the town itself is any 
thing but pleasing. The walls and buildings are only 
remarkable for their massiveness and gloom. The streets 
are narrow, ruinous, and dirty. Travellers find in it but 
miserable accommodation, and are generally glad to make 
their sojourn as brief as possible. 

Imagine Peter now threading his way through one of 
the narrow and dirty streets of Joppa, toward the house 
of Dorcas, guided by the two men who had been sent to 
bring him from Lydda: and, while they are wending 



292 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

their way to the place of mourning, let us endeavour to 
acquaint ourselves with the character and deeds of the 
deceased.\ 

II. The subject of the miracle. Her name was Tabitha, 
or Dorcas. The former was the Hebrew or Syriac name ; 
the latter was the Greek. The words are identical in 
meaning: they both signify the "Gazelle/' or "Ante- 
lope." It may be observed, in passing, that it is even 
now customary in the East to give the names of beautiful 
animals to young women ; and Oriental poetry abounds 
with the comparison of fine eyes to those of the gazelle. 
Probably the person whose story we are now considering 
obtained her name in this way : if so, then she was very 
beautiful, and, because beautiful, she was called " Dorcas," 
the " Gazelle." 

But whatever may be said of the personal attractions of 
Dorcas, is of little importance, compared with what may 
be said of her mind, character, and life ; these were beau- 
tiful indeed. The grace of God had made her a saint of 
the loveliest mould ; the law of kindness was graven on 
her heart ; and works of charity filled up her pious life. 
With reference to her, the words of Job might be appro- 
priately used, " When the ear heard, then it blessed her ; 
and when the eye saw, it gave witness to her : because 
she delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and 
them that had none to help : she caused the widow's 
heart to sing for joy." Two things are here affirmed, in 
regard to her abounding and incessant kindness : ec She 



KNEELING BY THE DEAD BODY OF DOECAS. 293 

was full of good works and alms deeds which, she did." 
She worked for the poor, — perhaps, especially for poor 
widows ; and she gave them alms. Thus, both her money 
and her labour were expended in supplying the necessities 
and promoting the comforts of the poor. And we may 
observe, that where there is a benevolent mind, even in 
the absence of pecuniary resources, a little ingenuity and 
effort will enable persons materially to contribute to the 
relief of the destitute and suffering. 

These charities of Dorcas were all the more remarkable, 
considering the time in which she lived. Such interest in 
the poor was then, by no means common. There were 
then no such systematic provisions made, and no such 
societies as are now established for their relief and com- 
fort. She was before her time, and singularly good. 
She needed no stimidant from without. Her own kind 
heart and holy Christian sympathies moved and sustained 
her in her work of love. We would not be censorious, 
and yet woidd ask, How many are there, in our day, who 
are only charitable under the stimulus of example, a pub- 
lic meeting, a society, and report? We rejoice in the 
help obtained for the poor, even in this way ; but, so far 
as the contributors are concerned, a better motive is 
required in order to their enjoyment of the luxury of 
doing good, and to then happy interest in these words : 
" Blessed is he that considereth the poor : the Lord will 
deliver him in time of trouble. " 

What a charming description of works of charity and 



294 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

love is that which, our Saviour gives us, in his discourse 
about the judgment-day ! He speaks of the suffering and 
the destitute as his representatives ; and reckons what is 
done for them, under the influence of Christian motive, as 
done for himself. Addressing those on his right hand, he 
says, " I was hungry, and ye gave me meat : I was thirsty, 
and ye gave me drink : I was a stranger, and ye took me 
in : naked, and ye clothed me : I was sick, and ye visited 
me : I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall 
the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we 
thee an hungred, and fed thee ? or thirsty, and gave thee 
drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee 
in ? or naked, and clothed thee ? Or when saw we thee 
sick, or in prison, and came unto thee ? And the King 
shall answer and say unto them, Yerily I say unto you, 
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of 
these my brethren, ye have done it unto me/' (Matt, 
xxv. 35-40.) 

How desirable it seems, that persons who pursue a 
beneficent course, like that of Dorcas, should be favoured 
with uninterrupted and vigorous health, and that they 
should be permitted to live long upon the earth, blessing 
and being blessed ! In this world of ours, where sin has 
made privation and suffering so common, there are always 
round about us multitudes who need the sympathy and 
help of those whom Providence has favoured in respect of 
temporal things. But, as compared with the numbers of 
the needy, how few there are who could be truthfully por- 



KNEELING BY THE DEAD BODY OF DOKCAS. 295 

trayed in the language used in reference to Dorcas ! How 
small is the number of those who are "full of good works 
and almsdeeds ! " and how badly can we afford to have 
any of them taken away ! Beside, might we not suppose, 
that persons who embody so perfectly, and with so much 
advantage to their neighbours, the heaven-born principle 
of love, would be distinguished by the God of love, and 
be exempted from sickness, and, as long as possible, from 
death ? But it is not so ; at least, not uniformly. We often 
see the righteous grievously afflicted, while of many of 
the wicked we may truly say, that they are neither 
plagued, nor in trouble, as other men. It is no uncom- 
mon thing to see the useful cut down, while the appa- 
rently useless are permitted to remain. Not a few, whose 
whole life has been one continuous act of blessing, sicken, 
and, as we in our short-sightedness would say, prema- 
turely die. There is much in all this that we cannot pos- 
sibly understand ; but as for God, his way is perfect ; 
and, in his holy Word, he has given us sufficient explana- 
tion to inspire us with cheerful and unbounded confidence in 
his unerring wisdom and eternal love. Neither the rewards 
of virtue nor the punishments of ^vice belong to time, but 
to eternity. This is the scene of probation, not of retri- 
bution. The very afflictions of this life are employed for 
purposes of grace. All things are wisely and graciously 
ordered; though the fact remains, that neither eminence 
in piety, nor extent of usefulness, can ward off the attacks 
of sickness, or turn away death from our door. The 



296 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEE. 

lovely and gentle, the pious and charitable, Dorcas sick- 
ened and died. 

It is altogether vain for us to inquire concerning the 
nature of her sickness, or the time it lasted. The brief 
and simple record is, " She was sick, and died." The 
skill of the physician, and the ministering kindness of 
friends, alike proved unavailing. Her sainted spirit 
passed away ; and the bereaved widows mourn over the 
lifeless body. There remain only for them now the last 
offices of pious friendship. The corpse is prepared in the 
usual manner for burial ; it is washed, and laid in an 
upper chamber ; and by it the mourners watch and weep. 

How solemn a thing, and how mysterious, is death ! 
"Who can explain what it is, or point out its secret cause ? 
Who is able to trace the connexion between the sickness 
of the patient, and the departure of the spirit ? None. 
To the question, "What is life?" the only answer that 
can be given is, a catalogue of its various functions and 
phenomena ; and death is explicable only by a statement 
of its physical effects. It is sufficient here to say, that in 
death there is the departure of the soul from the body, 
and the irrecoverable cessation of all the bodily functions. 
Such was the death of Dorcas. Hers was not a case of 
suspended animation, but of death ; and no merely human 
agency could restore her, or bring back her departed 
spirit. God alone can raise the dead. 

In the mean time the disciples having heard that Peter 
was at Lydda, they forthwith send two messengers to 



KNEELING BY THE DEAD BODY OF DORCAS. 297 

Lira, with, an urgent request that he would immediately 
come to them. The distance between Lydda and Joppa 
is only about six miles ; and as the messengers were evi- 
dently sent in haste, and Peter promptly responded to 
their call, but little time could possibly elapse between the 
departure of the men and the arrival of Peter. The cir- 
cumstance of the men being thus hastily dispatched for 
the Apostle, though trifling in itself, may help us to a 
probable conjecture as to the reason of their sending for 
him. If the men were sent after the death of Dorcas had 
taken place, it is difficult to account for the urgency and 
haste which are apparent. But if we suppose that they 
were sent before her death, but after signs of a fatal ter- 
mination of her ailment had begun to appear, — after it 
had become manifest that her sickness was unto death. — 
then we can easily understand the haste with which they 
dispatched the messengers to Lydda. They did so in 
the hope that Peter would come to them at once, and put 
forth such healing power upon Dorcas as he had been 
able to put forth in the case of Eneas. He had been bed- 
ridden for eight years with the palsy ; but was instantly 
cured at Peter's word. No doubt, accounts of this won- 
derful cure of Eneas had reached Joppa ; and the friends 
of Dorcas, when they see her dying, quickly send for 
Peter, that he may come and heal her, and save them 
from so painful a bereavement. This conjecture will, 
perhaps, be thought all the more probable, if we remem- 
ber that, down to this time 3 the Apostles had not raised 



298 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

any one from the dead. It is scarcely likely, therefore, 
that, in sending for Peter, they could have any hope that 
Dorcas would be restored to life. But they might very 
well indulge the hope, while she was only sick, that if 
Peter could be brought to her, he would heal her 
sickness. 

If we have correctly guessed at their motive in sending 
for the Apostle, we can readily imagine how painfully 
they must have felt the fact of her decease before his 
arrival. They have done what they could to avert this 
painful stroke ; but it has been done in vain ; their last 
hope is extinguished ; all is over ; Dorcas is dead. Having 
gazed awhile upon the lifeless body, and given vent to 
their sorrowful feeling, they attend to the last mournful 
duties, wash the body, and lay it in the upper chamber, 
ready for interment. 

"When Peter was come, they brought him into the 
upper chamber : and all the widows stood by him weep- 
ing, and showing the coats and garments which Dorcas 
made, while she was with them." This picture of the 
widows' grief is peculiarly touching. Their tribute to 
the worth of the deceased is in tears of unaffected sor- 
row and in the exhibition of her works of charity. These 
garments are the last mementos of an affectionate and a 
sympathizing friend. Her kind and generous heart will 
respond no more to their distresses ; her labours of love 
in their behalf are ended ; and they weep. They weep for 
themselves and for their children, but not for her. Their 



KNEELING BY THE DEAD BODY OF DORCAS. 299 

afflictive loss is her unspeakable gain. Her sainted spirit 
is with God. 

Curiosity would fain lift up the veil that shuts out the 
invisible, and gaze upon the region where the spirit of 
Dorcas is. We would see her form, and know her state, 
and mark her occupation. Is she far away ? Is she con- 
scious of what is passing around ? Does she behold us ? 
Vain, vain are all such questions. We must die to know. 

III. "We come now to notice briefly the manner in 
which the miracle was performed. 

Probably it was not yet made known to Peter that a 
miracle would be wrought, that Dorcas would be restored 
to life. There was certainly nothing in the experience of 
the past to lead him to anticipate this. And whether he 
could do more than sympathize with the bereaved, and 
pray for the grace of God to sustain and comfort them, 
he knew not ; but he would ask counsel from above ; and 
having " put them all forth, he kneeled down, and prayed." 

Observe, in the first place, he sought to be alone. 
Why he did so, can only be conjectured. But the pro- 
cedure of Peter in this particular, is very similar to that 
of his Divine Master, on occasion of raising to life the 
Ruler's daughter. (See Matt. ix. 23.) Some have supposed 
that Peter took this course in order to avoid the appear- 
ance of ostentation ; and others, that it was to secure the 
greater freedom in those prayers which he felt himself 
moved to offer up. The number of persons in the room, 
their violent grief and clamorous lamentation, must of 



300 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

necessity distract him, and hinder him in prayer. He 
therefore puts them all forth, that he might have the 
opportunity of pouring out his earnest supplications 
undisturbed. What was the specific subject of his prayer, 
we are not informed. It might be only, at the first, the 
expression of an anxious wish that God would be gra- 
ciously pleased to turn this bereavement to a profitable 
account; that in some way or other the divine glory 
might be advanced. But as Peter continued to pray, 
and to pray, as he no doubt did, under the promptings of 
the Spirit of God, the things of God would be revealed to 
him, the purpose of God made known. The thought of 
Dorcas being raised to life would be presented to his 
mind, the desire of this awakened in his heart, the petition 
for it humbly, but urgently and believingly, presented ; and 
then the deep, divine persuasion is felt that the Lord would 
actually raise up Dorcas by his means. 

Whether this was the process passing in the mind of 
Peter while he knelt by the dead body, we are of course 
not able to affirm; nor is it of any consequence. The 
desire for this miracle was created, faith in the ability of 
Christ to accomplish it was experienced, and a divine 
confidence that Dorcas would be actually and presently 
restored to life, commanded the whole soul of Peter ; and, 
turning to the body, he said, "Tabitha, arise." The 
word of the Apostle was with power. Life was com- 
municated, the spirit of Dorcas returned to its former 
habitation, the eyes which had been closed in death 



KNEELING BY THE DEAD BODY OF DOKCAS. 301 

opened upon her restorer, and she that had been pre- 
pared for burial sat np. Peter took her by the hand, 
" and, when he had called the saints and widows, he pre- 
sented her alive." 

" Who can imagine the surprise of Dorcas, when called 
back to life ? or of her friends, when they saw her alive ? 
Tor the sake of themselves and of the poor there was 
cause of rejoicing, and much more for such a confirma- 
tion of the Gospel; but to herself it was matter of 
resignation, not joy, to be called back to these scenes of 
vanity, which surely would not have been tolerable, had 
not a veil of oblivion been drawn over the glories which 
her separate spirit had enjoyed. But, doubtless, her 
remaining days were still more zealously spent in the 
service of her Saviour and her God. Thus was a richer 
treasure laid up for her in heaven; and she afterward 
returned to a more exceeding weight of glory than that 
from which so astonishing a providence had recalled her 
for a season."* 

IY. The effect produced by the miracle upon ih.Q 
inhabitants of the place, remains to be considered : " It 
was known throughout all Joppa ; and many believed in 
the Lord." 

We are not to look upon this miracle merely, nor even 
chiefly, as a work of benevolence, — highly gratifying to 
the friends of Dorcas, and to the many poor widows to 

* Wesley. 



302 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

whom she had been so kind, — but as specially intended 
to carry with it a great moral influence in favour of 
Christianity. It was a demonstration of the truth, the 
divinity, and the power of Christ, and of Ms holy Gospel ; 
and the consequence was, that "many believed in the 
Lord." It would have been surprising if they had not. 
No clearer proof could be given of the almighty power of 
Christ, or of the fact, that Peter was his authorized and 
approved servant. And the people felt themselves shut 
up to the faith of the Lord Jesus. 

Peter remained for some time at Joppa, probably that 
he might take advantage of the strong impression pro- 
duced upon the people by the raising of Dorcas, and lead 
them to a further acquaintance with the doctrine of Christ. 
The public mind was now in a state of readiness to receive 
the truth, and Peter, no doubt, freely dispensed it. A 
great and effectual door was opened to him for preaching 
the Gospel, and in Joppa there would be many seals to 
his ministry; many who would be stars in his glorious 
crown in the day of the Lord. 

Shall we be reckoned fanciful in our application of 
this account, if we take Dorcas as she lies in the upper 
chamber, with all the trappings of death about her, as a 
type of man in his spiritual condition ; and consider 
Peter as representing one who only wields the ordinary 
power of the Gospel for a moral resurrection ? The souls 
of men are as the body of Dorcas, — dead. They are 
dead in trespasses and in sins; dead to all that is holy 



KNEELING BY THE DEAD BODY OF DORCAS. 303 

and divine ; dead in law, and but waiting to be consigned 
to the death that never dies. As far as human means are 
concerned, the souls of men are as hopelessly dead as was 
the body of Dorcas. -So power but that which is embodied 
in the Gospel — the power of Christ — can raise to holy, 
happy, and eternal life. But this is sufficient. "You hath 
he quickened, who were dead." What the Eedeemer's 
power did for the body of Dorcas, it still does for the 
souls of sinful men. 

The dead are around us in the valley. The bones are 
many, and, lo ! they are very dry. But the Ministers of 
Christ are prophesying over them, and saying, "0 ye dry 
bones, hear the word of the Lord!" Nor do they pro- 
phesy in vain. Power comes upon the slain, and they 
live. 



SCENE XI. 

IN A TRANCE ON THE HOUSE-TOP AT JOPPA. 

" Peter went up upon the house-top to pray about the sixth hour : 
and he became very hungry, and would have eaten : but while 
they made ready, he fell into a trance, and saw heaven opened, 
and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great 
sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth : 
wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and 
wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And 
there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter ; kill, and eat. But Peter 
said, Not so, Lord ; for I have never eaten any thing that is 
common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the 
second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou com- 
mon. This was done thrice : and the vessel was received up 
again into heaven." — Acts x. 9-16. 

What a variety of methods have been employed by the 
Great Governor of the universe for the purpose of making 
himself known to the dwellers in this out-lying province 
of his vast dominion, and communicating to them a know- 
ledge of his will ! From the time when Adam heard the 
voice of God in the bowers of Eden, until John beheld 
the sublime Apocalyptic visions in the Isle of Patmos, this 
necessary knowledge has been in course of conveyance 
through every conceivable medium. Voices, visions, and 
symbols ; the angels and Prophets of the Old Testament, 



IN A TRANCE ON THE HOUSE-TOP AT JOPPA. 305 

and the Apostles and Evangelists of the New, — have all 
contributed to make the creature savingly acquainted with 
his Creator, and guide him from earth to the skies ; and, 
now that the revelation is complete, it is deeply interest- 
ing to look back upon, and examine, the " divers manners" 
in which, " at sundry times," this revelation has been 
made. In a careful review of the several methods 
employed, we perceive that each individual method has 
been, in itself, proof and illustration of important facts ; 
and, in some instances, we find it difficult to determine 
whether the thing revealed, or the thing employed in 
revealing, presents the larger amount of information. 
Tempting as this thought is, we cannot now pursue it, 
and will only cite, as an example of our meaning, "the 
trance." Through this medium momentous truth was 
made known to Balaam of old, and to the Apostles Peter 
and Paul; while, at the same time, the medium itself 
shows us the perfect access of God to the mind of man, 
and his unlimited control over all its faculties. The 
trance demonstrates that the mental powers and the 
bodily functions are all subject to Him with whom we 
have to do ; and, further, that there is an action of mind 
independent of our physical organization. 

" Peter went up upon the house-top to pray about the 
sixth hour." It has often been remarked, that the houses 
in Judea were built with flat roofs, on which people 
walked, conversed, meditated, and prayed. The house-top 
was, in fact, a place of retirement; and thither Peter 

x 2 



306 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

repaired, for the purpose of praying to God. " At first 
he felt keen hunger; but, being earnestly engaged with 
God, all natural appetites became absorbed in the intense 
application of his soul to his Maker. While every pas- 
sion and appetite was under this divine influence, and the 
soul, without let or hinderance, freely conversing with 
God, then the visionary and symbolical representation 
mentioned took place."* 

A trance may be explained as the highest degree of 
mental abstraction. While it lasts, the mind is wholly 
withdrawn from surrounding things, and appears to act 
independently of the body. The bodily senses are either 
partially or entirely suspended; while the mind is 
intensely occupied with some particular train of thought, 
or subject of contemplation. There is an utter uncon- 
sciousness of external objects and influences ; and the 
mind converses exclusively with spiritual and unseen 
things. Probably this was the condition of St. Paul, 
when — whether " in the body or out of the body," he 
could not tell, but — he heard and saw unutterable things. 

To some extent this state of mind may, undoubtedly, 
be experienced as the result of merely natural causes. 
But in the case of Peter, there was evidently a super- 
natural influence at work. God was about to unfold 
to him the mystery which had been hidden for ages, 
namely, "That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and 

* Dr. A. Clarke. 



IN A TRANCE ON THE HOUSE-TOP AT JOPPA. 307 

of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ 
by the Gospel;" and to prepare him for this, Peter's 
mind is divinely drawn away from all present objects ; 
so that he is enabled to gaze withont distraction npon 
the vision presented to him, and earnestly to consider its 
meaning. It was under an influence from above, that 
Peter fell into this trance ; and what he saw was a divine 
representation. 

"We shall now proceed to a brief consideration of the 
vision which Peter beheld, and of the interesting manner 
in which it was fully explained to him. 

I. The vision : " He saw heaven opened." This phrase 
is considered by some to be a mere Hebraism, in which 
the sky above us is regarded as a solid and vast expanse, 
opened, for the purpose of allowing something to become 
visible, or to descend. But surely it is much more agree- 
able to all the circumstances of the account, to understand 
the language as implying the discovery to the entranced 
mind of Peter of the spiritual world. Assuredly that 
world is not far from us. Heaven is no far distant region. 
And although the dense medium of flesh and blood pre- 
vents us from seeing it, we have reason to believe in the 
possibility of its discovery to the soul. Grod can easily 
throw the mind into this " ecstasy," — making it for the 
time independent of the bodily senses, and giving it a 
spiritual perception, to which heaven will be opened, and 
things invisible made manifest. This may be beautifully 
illustrated by the case of Elisha's servant at Dothan. 



308 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

ce Lord/' said the Prophet, " open this young man's eyes 
that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the 
young man ; and he saw : and, behold, the mountain was 
full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." 
The heavenly hosts were there before, but invisible ; the 
young man's eyes were opened, and he saw them. The 
spiritual world was opened to him, as we understand it to 
have been opened to St. Peter. 

Peter beheld " a certain vessel descending unto him, as 
it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and 
let down to the earth : wherein were all manner of four- 
footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping 
things, and fowls of the air." This was obviously a 
vision, and not a reality. The appearance to the mind of 
Peter was that of a great sheet, containing these various 
animals. There were represented to him such animals as 
were allowed for food, and also such as were forbidden by 
the Jewish law. Animals were divided by that law into 
the clean and the unclean. Of the former only might 
they take either for food or for sacrifice to God. This 
law, prohibiting the use of certain animals, was expressly 
designed to keep the Jewish people separate and distinct 
from all the nations of the earth. This object was com- 
pletely secured. The people dwelt alone. And to this 
day, although the Jews are found in almost every kingdom, 
they are nevertheless a perfectly distinct people. Turbu- 
lent and rebellious as they have been from age to age, 
they yet have scrupulously submitted to the precepts of 



IN A TRANCE ON THE HOUSE-TOP AT JOPPA. 309 

the ceremonial law ; and that law has been as a middle 
wall of partition between the Jew and the Gentile from 
the beginning of their history nntil this very day. 

Peter, as a Jew, had lived in uniform obedience to this 
law ; and hence, when he heard the voice saying to him, 
" Rise, Peter; kill, and eat," he at once replied, " Not so, 
Lord ; for I have never eaten any thing that is common 
or unclean." 

The people thus divinely separated were favoured with 
peculiar religious advantages above all the nations of the 
world. To them were committed the oracles of truth; 
among them were established the law of God and the 
ordinances of the true religion; they were God's chosen 
people, and he dwelt among them. But the people thus 
distinguished by the number and the excellence of their 
privileges, became high-minded and exclusive. They 
prided themselves on their exalted position, and looked 
upon all others with contempt. The Gentile was disliked 
and scorned; an inveterate prejudice was fostered; and 
all who were placed without the enclosure of the Jewish 
nation, were held to be beyond the range of Jehovah's 
gracious purposes. 

This prejudice was strong in the minds of Peter and 
his fellow- Apostles ; and although, in the great evangeli- 
cal commission which they had received from Christ, they 
were instructed to "go into all the world, and preach the 
Gospel to every creature," down to this period they had 
only preached it to the Jews. And to a certain extent, at 



310 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

least, they were right in pursuing this course. They had 
been plainly told to begin their ministry of mercy at 
Jerusalem ; but that ministry was not to end there. Some 
eight years had now elapsed since they received these 
instructions ; and the time had come for offering Christ 
to all, and for receiving into the church of Christ all 
that believed, the Gentile as well as the Jew. 

Peter was to have the honour of being the primary 
instrument in extending the Gospel of the grace of God 
to the Gentiles. Indeed, he had received the "keys of the 
kingdom of heaven;" and, on the Day of Pentecost, he 
opened the Christian dispensation by preaching the first 
Gospel sermon; and now, with the same key, he is to 
open the Gospel to the Gentiles. As yet, however, he 
was not in a state of mind to do this. He requires further 
light and larger views. His Jewish exclusiveness is con- 
sidered to rest upon divine authority ; and it can only be 
corrected and overcome by an equally express and positive 
revelation of the mind of God. Now the vision with 
which he was favoured, as he lay upon the house-top at 
Joppa, conveyed to him this further light and explicit 
authority. 

In the vessel which he saw, there were " all manner of 
four-footed beasts, 55 &c. : that is to say, there were the 
clean and the unclean. Both were presented to him from 
heaven ; and he, being hungry, is told to " kill and eat. 5 * 
An unmistakeable intimation is thus made to him, that 
the ceremonial distinction between the clean and the 



IN A TRANCE ON THE HOUSE-TOP AT JOPPA. 311 

unclean was now ended. But as yet lie did not appre- 
hend the meaning of the vision. The words addressed to 
him plainly implied, that he might now make his own 
selection from the animals before him, and freely eat of 
any one of them. Thus far he clearly understood the 
language spoken to him ; but he declined to avail himself 
of the permission given, assigning as the reason, that he 
had "never eaten any thing common or unclean;" that is 
to say, there was a divine law forbidding him to do so ; 
and he could not, while that law was unrepealed, eat of 
such animals as were now before him. Then, to remove 
his scruples, and to clear the way for his compliance with 
the command to " kill and eat," he hears the voice again, 
saying, " "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou 
common." Here he is plainly told, that the law prohibit- 
ing the use of unclean animals was abrogated ; and that, 
in fact, the ceremonial distinction between the clean 
and the unclean was at an end, and God had cleansed 
the whole. The same authority which had issued the 
law at the first, for wise and sufficient reasons, now sets 
aside the law, for reasons equally important. This was, 
no doubt, one design of the vision ; but it unquestionably 
had another and far more important one ; namely, to 
show that the distinction between the Jew and the Gen- 
tile was abok'shed ; and that men of all nations were to 
be admitted into the church, just as animals of all kinds 
were enclosed in the sheet now let down before the Apos- 
tle. The object of the ceremonial law was to separate the 



312 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

Jewish from the Gentile nations ; but the purpose of God, 
in that separation, had now been fulfilled, and it was his 
pleasure that the separation should cease. He was about 
to throw open the privileges of grace to all ; and therefore 
the law which made a distinction in favour of one particu- 
lar people was abolished. It may be taken as a maxim 
in law, that, when the reason why a law is made ceases to 
exist, the law itself becomes obsolete. 

We have no difficulty in understanding what passed on 
the house-top at Joppa ; but it was far otherwise with St. 
Peter. He was thrown into great perplexity ; the most 
careful consideration of the vision did not relieve him; 
and he remained for a time in troublesome doubt as to its 
meaning. This will not surprise us, if we fairly estimate 
the circumstances of the case, as they are summarily 
stated by St. Peter himself: " Ye know how that it is an 
unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, 
or come unto one of another nation." This may, perhaps, 
be considered as an extreme construction of the Mosaic 
laws : it was, however, that which was ordinarily put 
upon them by the Jewish people, who regarded them as 
forbidding every sort of intercourse with Gentile nations. 
It was, therefore, extremely difficult for the Jews to con- 
ceive, that the hitherto excluded and despised Gentiles 
were now to be placed upon an equality with themselves ; 
to be admitted into their close and holy fellowship, and 
with them to constitute one church of the living God. 
This was so vast a change, in relation to a state of things 



IN A TKANCE ON THE HOUSE-TOP AT JOPPA. 313 

which had obtained for ages, and which was believed to 
have been established at the first by the divine will, that 
St. Peter experienced the ntmost difficulty in compre- 
hending the vision which set it forth. 

But the Lord did not leave his servant long a prey to 
uncertainty and doubt. An explanation was very soon 
given to him, as pleasant as it was satisfactory. The fol- 
lowing is the account of it : " While Peter thought on the 
vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek 
thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with 
them, doubting nothing : for I have sent them." While 
the Apostle is going down to meet and converse with 
these men, let us take the opportunity of glancing at what 
is passing in Csesarea. There lived in that city a " Centu- 
rion of the Boman army, called Cornelius." He was a 
devout and God-fearing man, exceedingly charitable, and 
given to prayer. An angel appeared to him, and told 
him that his prayers and alms had come up for a memo- 
rial before God; and that he must send to Joppa for 
Peter, who would give him all further information as to 
what he must do, in order to his full enjoyment of divine 
acceptance. Cornelius immediately dispatched two of his 
household servants, accompanied by a devout soldier, to 
Joppa. They arrived there at the very moment when 
Peter was earnestly endeavouring to ascertain the meaning 
of the vision. They had found out the house of Simon the 
tanner, and now stood at the gate, asking if Peter lodged 
there. On being introduced to Peter, these three men 



314 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

delivered their message from Cornelius ; and Peter con- 
sented to go back with them to Csesarea. He did so on 
the morrow ; and, on arriving at the house of the Cen- 
turion, he found a considerable company assembled, con- 
sisting chiefly of the kinsmen and intimate friends of 
Cornelius. Light now begins to break in upon the mind 
of Peter ; and he sees that one object of the vision was to 
show him that he might now keep company with a Gentile, 
and therefore with Cornelius. "God," said he, "hath 
showed me that I should not call any man common or 
unclean. Therefore I came unto you without gainsaying, 
as soon as I was sent for : I ask therefore for what intent 
ye have sent for me?" 

Cornelius, in reply, gave an account of the appearance 
of the angel to him, and of the instruction which he had 
received, concluding his statement with the following 
words : " Now therefore are we all here present before 
God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God." 
The whole meaning of the vision is now revealed to Peter. 
He sees before him a congregation of Gentiles gathered 
together under the immediate direction of God, and for 
the express purpose of hearing from him the glad tidings 
of salvation. All doubts are cleared up ; all uncertainty 
is at an end ; the mists of prejudice pass away from his 
mind; the middle wall of partition between Jew and 
Gentile disappears from before him; his heart expands 
with the divine charity of the Gospel ; and his loosened 
tongue proclaims a love that has overleaped all the cere- 



IN A TRANCE ON THE HOUSE-TOP AT JOPPA. 315 

monial distinctions of the past. " Peter opened his month, 
and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter 
of persons : but in every nation he that feareth him, and 
worketh righteousness, is accepted with him." The 
Apostle has now taken " the keys " which he had received 
from Christ, and opens therewith "the kingdom of hea- 
ven" to the Gentiles. 

The outline of this first sermon to a Gentile congrega- 
tion presents us with an epitome of Gospel history, and 
an authoritative statement and offer of Gospel benefits. 
" To Him give all the Prophets witness, that through His 
name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission 
of sins." These were the words whereby, according to 
the promise of the angel, Cornelius and all his house 
should be saved. Xor are these tidings delivered "in 
word only, but in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in 
much assurance." Their truth is divinely attested there 
and then; for "while Peter yet spake these words, the 
Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word." 

This descent of the Holy Ghost upon these Gentiles 
greatly astonished the six brethren whom Peter had taken 
with him from Joppa. They were Jews converted to the 
faith of Christ, but as yet ignorant of the divine purpose 
with respect to the Gentiles, and under the influence of 
the same prejudice which had been so difficult to remove 
from the mind of Peter himself. Effects immediately 
followed this effusion of the Holy Ghost, identical with 
those of the Day of Pentecost. These Gentiles received 



316 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

the gift of tongues, and were able, in languages which 
they had never learned, to magnify the Lord. Every 
thing clearly showed that they were now placed on a per- 
fect equality with the Jewish converts, and that they were 
therefore entitled to the ordinances and blessings of the 
church of Christ. Peter accordingly demanded, " Can 
any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, 
which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?" 
Baptism was the outward and visible sign ; and it could 
not, with a shadow of propriety, be withheld from those 
who had so manifestly received the inward and spiritual 
grace. " And he commanded them to be baptized in the 
name of the Lord." They were thus formally and fully 
admitted within the sacred enclosure of the Christian 
church, and became the first living witnesses that " there 
is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, 
Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free ; but Christ is all and 
in all." 

Tidings of this event very soon reached the Church at 
Jerusalem, and produced a great sensation among its 
members. Much uneasiness was felt in reference to it ; 
the conduct of St. Peter was freely canvassed ; the com- 
ments upon it were altogether unfavourable to him ; he 
was held to have been guilty of a serious innovation ; and, 
in the true spirit of Jewish naiTOw-mindedness, he was 
warmly called to account as soon as he arrived from 
Csesarea. There is a tone of indignation and censure in 
the terms of the charge preferred against him : " They 



IN A TRANCE ON THE HOUSE-TOP AT JOPPA. 317 

contended with him, saying, Thou wentest in to men 
nncircumcised, and didst eat with them." Peter was 
thus put upon his trial. But the plain and candid 
account of the whole affair which he was able to give, 
proved a triumphant defence. " He rehearsed the matter 
from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto 
them." " He related his vision ; and, to show that he 
could not be mistaken in the interpretation of it, he 
represents to them that God had set his seal to it by an 
effusion of such spiritual gifts as had borne witness to 
their own separation to the work of the ministry. c The 
Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. 
What then was I that I could withstand God? 5 The 
argument was unanswerable ; and, confirmed as it was at 
that time by six brethren, who had been eye-witnesses of 
the whole transaction, and had accompanied St. Peter to 
Jerusalem to bear this testimony, they acknowledged 
God's goodness in the event ; they thankfully acquiesced 
in the declaration of this great extension of the Gospjel, 
and said, e Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted 
repentance unto life.'"* 

Some time after this, the question was raised whether 
it was not necessary, in order to salvation by Christ, that 
the ceremonial law should be observed, and that believers 
should be circumcised. This subject was discussed in what 
has been called " the first Council of the church," held 

* Brewster. 



318 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

at Jerusalem. Peter took part in the deliberations, and 
reminded the Council that God had made choice among 
them, that by his mouth the Gentiles should hear the word 
of the Gospel, and believe; and that no difference was 
made between the Jew and the Gentile, God purifying the 
hearts of both by faith. He concluded his address with a 
remonstrance against the imposition of the Jewish cere- 
monial on the Gentile converts, characterizing it as a yoke 
which neither they nor their fathers were able to bear. 
Several others having addressed the assembly, the ques- 
tion was determined in favour of the exemption of the 
Gentiles from these ritual observances. 

The whole truth of the matter was now correctly appre- 
hended, not only by Peter, but also by them that were of 
the circumcision ; and we might suppose the entire ques- 
tion finally set at rest. Instead of this, however, we find, 
at intervals, persons, full of Jewish prejudice, troubling 
the church by their endeavours to obtrude the abrogated 
ritual. And even Peter, clear as his views were, and con- 
sistent as had been his practice for years after the vision 
at Joppa, was guilty of dissembling his convictions on the 
subject, and acted a part most unworthy and inconsistent. 
This occurred at Antioch. The account of it is furnished 
by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Galatians, in these words : 
" But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him 
to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that 
certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles : 
but when they were come, he withdrew and separated 



IN A TEAXCE ON THE HOUSE-TQP AT JOPPA. 319 

himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. 
And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him ; inso- 
much that Barnabas also was carried away with their 
dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked not 
uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel, I said unto 
Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after 
the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why 
compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews ?" 

"We infer from the absence of any statement to the con- 
trary, that Peter felt the justness of this rebuke, and that, 
instead of being offended or angry with St. Paul, he 
meekly and Christianly submitted to his reproof. He had 
done wrong, and he makes no attempt to justify his con- 
duct. Before passing away from this scene at Antioch, 
we may just observe how absurd it is to claim for St. 
Peter a supremacy, a princely authority, over the other 
Apostles, when we find St. Paul withstanding him to the 
face, and publicly censuring him; Peter, in the mean- 
while, neither asserting his prerogative, nor in any way 
resenting the indignity so openly offered to it. 

We have seen the door of the Gospel opened to the 
Gentiles, — opened to us. May we enter in and be saved ! 
"God is no respecter of persons;" and if by the new 
and living way we approach him, he will freely bestow 
upon us the treasures of his love and mercy; he will 
permit us to feast on the provisions of his grace, and to 
joy in the anticipation of his glory. His church is thrown 
open to us ; all its privileges are offered to us ; and we 

Y 



320 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

may pass through it to the church triumphant in heaven. 
At the same time we must not oyerlook the fact, that 
a solemn responsibility devolves npon us in connexion 
with our Gospel privilege. And we are warned by the 
example of the Jews: they were God's chosen people; 
they were favoured above all the nations of earth ; but 
they neglected their opportunities ; they rejected the coun- 
sel of God against themselves; their candlestick was 
removed out of its place, the door was closed against 
them, and the just judgments of God overtook them. So 
will it be with us, unless we prayerfully and diligently 
improve the Gospel of the grace of God, which we so 
abundantly enjoy. 



SCENE XII. 

IMPRISONED AT JERUSALEM, AJST) RESCUED BY AN 
ANGEL. 

" Peter therefore was kept in prison : "but prayer was made without 
ceasing of the church unto God for him. And when Herod 
would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleep- 
ing between two soldiers, bound with two chains : and the keep- 
ers before the door kept the prison. And, behold, the angel of 
the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison : and 
lie smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up 
quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. And the angel 
said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so 
he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, 
and follow me. And he went out, and followed him ; and wist 
not that it was true which was done by the angel ; but thought 
he saw a vision." — Acts xii. 5-9. 

In a mountainous region we sometimes have the oppor- 
tunity of witnessing most surprising and beautiful effects 
produced by the action of the sun upon the thick mists of 
the morning. TVe occupy, perhaps, an elevated position ; 
but all objects beneath and around us are concealed 
from our view by the dense fog. Eich and magnificent 
scenery is in our immediate neighbourhood ; but, for the 
present, no part of it is visible. There are fields waving 
with corn, and green pastures where the cattle recline. 
The river is there, and the beautiful lake; the heath- 

y 2 



322 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

covered hill, and the beetling crag. All these are there, 
although the eye cannot penetrate the vapoury veil which 
covers them, and they remain invisible. But, after a 
while, the warm and bright beams of the sun are sufficient 
to disperse the dense vapours ; and first one opening in 
the mist is made, and then another, aifording us glimpses 
of surrounding objects. For a moment we catch sight of 
the lofty summit, or of the pleasant dwelling, or of the 
husbandman busy in the field; and we expect that the 
whole landscape will soon be spread out before us. But, 
alas ! these momentary peeps through the partial openings 
are all we can obtain for the present. A fresh tide of 
mist rolls down from a neighbouring mountain, and all is 
hidden as before. 

Is it not thus with regard to the spiritual world around 
us ? Such a world there is, near to us ; but an impene- 
trable veil shuts it out from our view. It is there, though 
we cannot behold it. The Bible authoritatively declares 
the fact of its existence; and it hath pleased God now 
and then to give us glimpses of the unseen region, and of 
the bright and happy beings who dwell in it. There have 
been, as it were, openings in the mist; and we have 
caught sight of the angels of God who are cc sent forth to 
minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation." 
Jacob of old had an enchanting vision at Bethel, repre- 
senting the ministry of angels. He saw " a ladder set up 
on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven ; and 
behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it." 



IMPRISONED, AND RESCUED BY AN ANGEL. S23 

The doctrine of the ministry of angels in the affairs of 
men is not only plainly revealed in holy Scripture ; it is 
also very extensively illustrated by numerous appearances 
of these happy spirits, and by the revelations which they 
made, and the works which they accomplished. A care- 
ful examination of the various accounts of these angelic 
appearances and missions would probably show, that there 
is much more disclosed, in reference to this deeply inter- 
esting doctrine, than many persons imagine. In this 
place, however, the general subject cannot be pursued: 
our attention must be confined to a single illustrative 
example. It is a very pleasant one, showing the disap- 
pointment of an unprincipled and cruel King, occasioned 
by the angel delivering an eminent servant of the Lord 
Jesus just when the King supposed him entirely in his 
power, and immediately before the time he had tixed for 
the prisoner's execution. 

Our thoughts must be successively engaged with the 
prisoner, the church, and the angel : with Peter, in his 
hopeless condition; with the church, in her earnest 
prayers ; and with the angel, in his wonderful procedure. 

I. " In the world ye shall have tribulation. 55 So said 
the Redeemer, with respect to all his followers. The form 
of the tribulation, and the measure of it, may considerably 
vary, and the hour of its coming may, in some instances, 
be long delayed ; but the thing itself is absolutely certain. 
Neither excellence of piety, nbr eminence of station, nor 
extent of usefulness, will procure exemption from the com- 



324 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEE. 

mon lot. The private member and the public officer are 
alike called to prove, that this is not their rest ; and, by 
" the sufferings of the present life," are quickened to seek 
a gracious meetness for " the glory that shall be revealed." 

Among the Christians at Jerusalem we find abundant 
evidence of the truth of these things. We read that Herod 
stretched forth his hand, to vex certain of the church ; that 
the Apostle James was killed with the sword ; and that 
Peter was kept in prison. The King, who ought to have 
been the guardian of his people, busied himself with 
annoying and oppressing them ; he destroyed their liberty, 
and took away their lives. All this he did, not because 
the individuals so treated had been guilty of any offence 
against the State, or of any crime against their fellow- 
subjects ; but simply on account of their professing the 
name of Christ, and endeavouring to spread his doctrine. 
So true it is, that he that is " born after the flesh perse- 
cuted him that is born after the Spirit." Perhaps there 
is nothing in which the deep, dark, and malignant 
depravity of human nature is more manifest than in its 
opposition to, and hatred of, light and love. The light 
which is to lead man to happiness, and the love which is 
to make him like God, the Blessed One, are the very 
things from which he turns away with cold indifference, 
or against which his nature is moved with instinctive 
aversion. 

The Christians at Jerusalem embodied this light and 
love in their character and life ; but Herod stretched forth 



IMPRISONED, AND RESCUED BY AN ANGEL. 325 

his band to vex them. Peter was a burning and a 
shining light ; and, constrained by the love of Christ, he 
lived and laboured but to save and make men happy; 
and yet the King shut up Peter's light in a prison-cell, 
and rewarded his love by depriving him of liberty. 
Herod's motive, in this evil treatment of the followers of 
Christ, stamps his conduct with the most revolting injus- 
tice, and the very wantonness of cruelty. He indulged 
his own bad passions, in vexing certain of the church, and 
in killing James with the sword ; and then, " because he 
saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take 
Peter also." He did not even plead, as many tyrants 
do, a conscientious opposition to the doctrines of those 
over whom he tyrannized. But, just because he wished 
to be popular with the majority of his bigoted subjects, — 
the Jews who hated Christ, — he violated every principle 
of honour, of justice, and of humanity. But, verily, there 
is a God that judgeth in the earth ; and this man became 
a monument of his righteous wrath. Herod was fearfully 
smitten at the very moment when he was inhaling the 
breath of popular applause. " The people gave a shout," 
and blasphemously said, " It is the voice of a god, and 
not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord 
smote him, because he gave not God the glory : and he 
was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost." 

It may be observed, that Peter was now imprisoned for 
the third time, as the result of his fidelity and zeal in the 
cause of Christ. Prom the first imprisonment he was 



326 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEE. 

discharged with, threatenings, and with vain commands to 
speak no more, or teach, in the name of Jesus. On the 
second occasion, he was beaten, and departed from the 
Council, rejoicing that he was counted worthy to suffer 
shame for Christ. In this third instance, his death is 
determined upon ; and every precaution appears to have 
been taken to prevent the possibility of escape. Perhaps 
these precautionary measures were adopted in consequence 
of the fact, that Peter had been set at liberty from his 
previous imprisonment in a very singular way. The 
Great Council was assembled early in the morning to 
deliberate on his case; and they sent to the prison to 
have him brought before them. But when the officers 
who were sent came to the prison, they found it shut, 
indeed, with all safety, and the keepers standing without 
before the doors ; but, when they entered, they found no 
man within. The angel of the Lord had set Peter and 
his companion at liberty ; and they were at that moment 
standing in the temple, and teaching the people. 

It is very likely that this account of the means by 
which the Apostles had been delivered was not generally 
credited. It would be deemed more likely to have been 
effected by connivance on the part of the keepers. Herod 
is resolved that no such thing shall happen in this 
instance. Peter is put altogether beyond the reach of 
his friends ; and arrangements are made which render all 
their plans and resources utterly unavailing. Herod deli- 
vered Peter " to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him*" 



IMPRISONED, AND RESCUED BY AN ANGEL. 327 

A quaternion was a company of four ; there were, there- 
fore, sixteen Eoman soldiers, to whose safe keeping Peter 
was committed. These four companies would take among 
them the four watches, of three hours each, into which the 
night was divided. Of the four soldiers immediately 
employed in watching Peter, two were with him in the 
cell, and the other two were stationed outside the door. 
This, however, was not all. Peter was not only thus in 
prison, and carefully guarded by four soldiers; but, to 
make surety doubly sure, he was " bound with two chains," 
between the two soldiers who occupied the cell with him. 
In this case, the Eoman method of guarding prisoners 
was adopted; and the right hand of Peter would be 
chained to the left hand of one of the soldiers, and his 
left hand to the right hand of the other. 

We may now suppose that Herod feels secure of his 
prey, and that the bigoted Jews are quietly rejoicing in 
Peter's imprisonment, and anticipating the pleasure of his 
pubbc execution, as soon as the Passover feast is ended. 
No thought of disappointment troubles them ; and no fear 
of escape can for a moment be entertained. The soldiers 
who had charge of the Apostle knew that they must 
suffer death themselves, if they allowed him to escape; 
and it is not likely that Peter himself had even the feeblest 
expectation of deliverance. If he had, he would probably 
have been wakeful, in anticipation of the event; but, 
instead of this, we find him sleeping within a few hours 
of that fixed upon for his death. His spirit calmly reposes 



328 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

in God ; and he cheerfully resigns himself to the divine 
will. He looks for no escape from the prison, except as 
death shall help him to it ; and he peacefully sleeps till 
his deliverer come. 

To contemplate St. Peter in the position thns described, 
is at once deeply affecting, and most exhilarating. To 
think of a noble-minded man, whom Heaven had so mani- 
festly honoured, — a blameless man, against whom no 
political or other offence was laid; a man of the very 
highest moral worth, and distinguished only by his 
adherence to divine truth, and by his disinterested zeal 
and benevolence in the cause of Christ and of human hap- 
piness ; a man whose whole life was a public blessing ; — 
to think of a man of this style, thus incarcerated and 
bound, given up to the will of unjust and wicked men, 
within a few hours of the time fixed upon for his cruel 
death, about to be ignominiously sacrificed to the time- 
serving and unprincipled tyrant on the throne, and to the 
malignant bigotry of prejudiced and ferocious Jews, — all 
this is sad indeed. It is one of the mysteries of Provi- 
dence which we vainly seek to comprehend. Neverthe- 
less, believing in the wisdom and love which are concealed 
from our sight, we bow reverently, and adore. 

On the other hand, there is much in this description to 
call forth thankfulness and joy. To see St. Peter peace- 
fully sleeping under the circumstances ; sustained by the 
truth and grace which had been the theme of his public 
ministry; enjoying the unutterable satisfaction which 



IMPRISONED, AND RESCUED BY AX AX GEL. 329 

arises from a clear conscience and an approving God; 
undistnrbed by the near prospect of a violent death ; wait- 
ing with divine tranquillity the stroke of the executioner, 
as that which should free him for ever from the troubles 
of earth, and introduce his enraptured spirit to the vision 
and glory of God : — to think of all this, is cheering indeed, 
and we cannot but glorify God in him. 

It is not very clear how long the imprisonment of Peter 
had lasted, but probably not many days. The object was, 
not to punish him by loss of liberty, but to keep him in 
prison till it was convenient to put him to death. And 
the last night has set in, and only a few more horns of life 
remain. In the mean time, what were his friends doing ? 
Had they forgotten him ? Is he alone and friendless in 
the world ? Are there no means by which the enlarge- 
ment of Peter might be effected? Would no entreaties 
avail to save him? Is there no political influence that 
can be used ? Is there no one friend at court to intercede 
for him ? The answer to all such questions is, that the 
case is utterly hopeless : he must inevitably die, unless 
God should interfere. 

And with respect to an interposition on the part of 
God, was there any thing to encourage the hope of the 
church ? The Apostle James had been recently imprisoned, 
but God had not seen it meet to deliver him : he was 
killed with the sword. And what reason can be shown for 
delivering Peter, that could not have been shown in the 
case of James ? He, too, was a pillar in the church, — 



330 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEE. 

one whose removal seemed to endanger the stability of the 
chnrch ; and what more can be said of Peter ? Is it not 
far more likely that he, too, mnst die a martyr's death, 
than that God should miraculously deliver him from the 
power of Herod ? 

There was, however, a difference between the cases of 
Peter and James. The difference might not, indeed, be 
sufficient to justify the expectation of Peter's deliverance ; 
but it was enough to determine the church's line of duty. 
In all probability, James had been cut off at once, and 
no time allowed for either prayer or effort in his behalf on 
the part of the church ; but it is otherwise in regard to 
Peter. He is kept in prison until the Passover has been 
celebrated, and thus opportunity is given to the church of 
making known her request to God by prayer and supplica- 
tion. The prolonged imprisonment of Peter — the post- 
ponement of the time of his death — constitutes the 
church's call to prayer in his behalf. And although 
unaided reason and blind unbelief might readily suggest 
the extreme improbability that any difference would be 
made in favour of Peter, or that deliverance under the cir- 
cumstances could be effected, the church's duty was to 
pray ; and her encouragement might be, that God has a 
thousand ways, unknown to foolish and feeble man, of 
accomplishing his own purposes, and that nothing is too 
hard for him. Beside, the church could not safely con- 
clude that, because James had been taken away, Peter 
would be taken also. The contrary might be the divine 



IMPRISONED, AND RESCUED BY AN ANGEL. 331 

intention, — that, of the two, " one should be taken and 
the other left." 

II. The church fully apprehended her duty, and attended 
to it with an earnestness and a spirit of importunity 
worthy of the occasion. "Prayer was made without 
ceasing of the church unto God for him." Feeling that 
one of its most important members, one of its most 
honoured Ministers, one of its divmely-gifted Apostles, 
was in the greatest possible extremity, and in danger of 
being removed from its fellowship and service, the church 
bestirred itself, and earnestly entreated God in his behalf. 
Not only did those individuals pray, whose apprehensions 
of the magnitude of what was at stake were clearer than 
their neighbours', and whose feelings were more acute ; 
but the church, the whole company of professed believers 
in Christ, the church in its collective capacity, gave itself 
to prayer for Peter. 

The prayers of tlie church were special ; both in regard 
to their character and their subject. Prom the time when 
it became known that Peter was arrested, until " the same 
night " in which we find him sleeping between the two 
soldiers, during the whole period of his imprisonment, 
prayer was continuously made. There were stated hours 
for prayer in the Jewish church ; and those hours were 
recognised by the Christians at Jerusalem, and by the 
Apostles themselves, who went up to the temple at the 
hour of prayer : but it was not enough that those hours 
should be observed under the present extraordinary cir- 



332 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEE. 

cumstances : the church felt called upon to abound in this 
work, and it therefore made prayer " without ceasing." 

But the idea of continuity in prayer is not the only one 
conveyed by the words, " without ceasing." They imply, 
as is intimated in the marginal rendering, peculiar 
earnestness; "instant and earnest prayer was made." The 
word is iKTevrjs, and it occurs in its simple form only in 
one other passage of the New Testament. (1 Peter iv. 8.) 
There it is used to describe the intense and abounding love 
of Christians one to another, and is rendered " fervent," 
— " have fervent charity among yourselves." The same 
word, in combination, is used by St. Luke to express the 
special prayer of our Redeemer while enduring his agony 
in the garden: "He prayed," iKrep^arepop, " more earnestly." 
Jesus prayed then as he never prayed before : he " offered 
up," as St. Paul tells us, his " supplications with strong 
crying and tears, unto him that was able to save him from 
death." Prayer was here expressive of the deepest pos- 
sible feeling, and of a vehement desire, rising almost to 
agony. Such prayers were now offered by the church for 
Peter. The whole soul was moved with the greatest 
intensity of desire that God would graciously interpose. 
And, in this instance, the " effectual fervent prayer of the 
righteous " availed much. 

More or less of this earnestness must characterize all 
our applications to God, if we would be successful. The 
formal utterance of petitions for blessings of which the heart 
feels no particular need, will never prevail at the throne of 



IMPBISONED, AND EESCUED BY AN ANGEL. 333 

the heavenly grace. Of course this earnestness cannot be 
always equal in degree. Our ordinary circumstances and 
every day returning necessities cannot awaken it equally 
with the impending calamities, the unlooked-for emer- 
gencies, and the crises of human life. Earnestness will be 
proportioned to our appreciation of the importance, or 
value, or necessity of the thing prayed for, to the immi- 
nence of the danger, and the greatness of the evil, from 
which we desire to be delivered. In this case a painful 
bereavement was apprehended, a most serious loss was 
feared, a much-loved man was suffering, and likely to be 
sacrificed ; and affection, sympathy, private interest, and 
concern for the public good, all move the heart, stir up 
the depths of the soul, and find expression in earnest and 
instant prayer made to God " without ceasing." 

The prayers of the church were united. Individuals 
might, and probably did, pray to God for Peter ; but the 
church prayed. A subject of common interest called into 
action the collective sympathy ; a common evil threatened 
them, and they banded together that they might mingle 
their sympathies, and unitedly plead with God in earnest 
supplication that the evil might be averted. There are 
promises made with reference to the united prayers of 
Christian people which are not made with reference to 
the prayers of individuals : "If two of you shall agree on 
earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall 
be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. Tor 
where two or three are gathered together in my name. 



334 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

there am I in the midst of them." (Matt, xviii. 19, 20.) 

The aggregate of prayer is more prevalent than the indi- 
vidual application. There is a cumulative force in the 
prayers of a company of believers, not to be found 
in the privacy of the closet. Earnestness is sympathetic ; 
my faith is capable of being helped by the faith of ano- 
ther; my desires are intensified by the fervour with 
which my neighbour expresses his, and thus the spirit 
and the power of prayer are mightily increased. 

The players of the church were simultaneous. The 
members were by far too numerous to allow of their 
meeting together in any one place. They therefore appear 
to have met in companies at the same time, but in dif- 
ferent places. One of these companies met in " the house 
of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark." 
And from Peter's instructions to convey the glad tidings 
of his deliverance f ' to James and the brethren," we may 
very well suppose that they were met in another place for 
a similar purpose. They had no " churches " in which to 
assemble, no cc consecrated places " from which to offer 
up their prayers. But these were not essential to the 
acceptance of their devotion. The church prayer-meetings 
were simultaneously held in private houses; and God 
vouchsafed a gracious answer. Talk of cf consecrated 
places;" is not every believer's heart a temple for the 
Lord to dwell in ? Is not every place dedicated to the 
worship and employed in the service of God, a conse- 
crated place ? Is not that holy ground where he reveals 



IMPRISONED, AND RESCUED BY AN ANGEL. 335 

his presence, and permits us to commune with him? 
The place where God records his name, dispenses his 
truth, and vouchsafes his blessing, needs no further con- 
secration. And the prayers of the pious will ascend 
from such a place as acceptably to heaven, and secure 
as blessed a response, as if they rose from the finest 
ecclesiastical, and ecclesiastically-consecrated, structure in 
the land. 

TYe are not particularly informed as to the subject of 
their prayer ; it is only said, in general terms, that prayer 
was made unto God for Peter ; that is to say, on his 
account, or in his behalf. But it is natural to suppose 
that they prayed for the sparing of his life, for his deliver- 
ance from prison, and for his speedy restoration to his 
place and labours in the church. This prayer, as we have 
seen, was earnestly and importunately urged. And even 
when the case had become, humanly speaking, hopeless ; 
when it was altogether impossible to procure the release 
of Peter by ordinary means, or in any ordinary way ; still 
the church did not cease her prayers. Her hope was in 
God, to whom all things are possible. All forms of being 
are subject to him; all elements and laws of nature 
yield to his sovereign will : he has ten thousand ways of 
effecting deliverance for his people ; ten thousand forces of 
strength are at Iris command; so that there is neither 
might nor counsel against him. The church had only 
to look back upon her own history to find numerous 
examples of divine interposition, quite equal to any thing 

z 



336 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEE. 

that could be required for Peter's release. He that 
divided the Eed Sea, that overthrew the walls of Jericho, 
that discomfited Midian, and destroyed Sennacherib's 
mighty host, could accomplish any thing and every thino- 
for his people. The church has ceased from man, and 
makes her earnest appeal to the everlasting God. 

How often have we failed at the throne of grace, in con- 
sequence of yielding to a discouraging sense of the imprac- 
ticability of the thing about which we were praying ! 
The blessing was too high to be reached; the difficulty 
too great to be surmounted; and the duty too arduous 
to be fulfilled. We prayed on so long as we possessed 
any resources, and fancied that we could see the possibility 
of success. But when our all was expended in fruitless 
effort ; when our strength was gone ; a sense of helpless- 
ness and of hopelessness weighed us down, and we ceased 
to pray. This has been our folly. We were allowed to 
exhaust our own means, that our faith might be in God ; 
our strength was permitted to fail us, that we might be in 
a position to give God the entire glory of our success. 
When brought low, we should have prayed that He might 
lift us up ; when all hope in ourselves that we should 
be saved was taken away, then was the time to pray 
to God that He might save us. So the church in this 
instance understood. "Peter was sleeping between two 
soldiers, bound with two chains ; and the keepers before 
the door kept the prison:" but unceasing prayer was 
made to God for him. 



IMPRISONED, AND RESCUED BY AN ANGEL. 337 

Observe, this was the state of things existing on the 
very eve of Peter's intended execution. Day after day 
the church had been praying, but as yet no answer had 
been obtained. How is this? Have their prayers been 
heard? Is the Great Being, to whom they have been 
humbly and earnestly addressed, unwilling or unable to 
comply with their petition ? Surely, if it had been his 
pleasure to rescue Peter, he would have done it before 
this time ! "We cannot say that there were no misgivings 
in the minds of these praying people, arising out of the 
delay of God to answer. We can even admit that such 
misgivings would have been natural under the circum- 
stances. But a reference to God's ordinary course in 
such a case, would have been sufficient to sustain their 
hope. They would have seen that many of the most 
signal interpositions in behalf of the saints had been 
deferred to the last, and that God often made the time 
of man's extremity that of his own opportunity. They 
would have learned, by such a review, that delays were by 
no means to be taken as equivalent to denials. 

If an explanation of this procedure on the part of God 
is demanded, we should be disposed to give it in the 
form of these suggestions ; not intending them, however, 
to apply to any one particular case, but generally to the 
question, K Why is the answer to our prayer deferred so 
long?" We require to be taught that we do not com- 
mand in heaven, but are suppliants at the throne; the 
answer may be deferred, in order to bring us into such a 
z 2 



338 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

state of mind as shall enable us to appreciate and enjoy it 
when it comes. We have to learn that, whatever we may 
happen to possess, or are in any way able to do, we are 
nevertheless entirely dependent on God for the thing we 
pray for ; that until every thing has been tried and found 
inadequate, we are not in a condition to give the whole 
praise to God; that he is jealous of his glory, and will 
not answer until we are prepared to say, " Not unto us, 
not unto us, Lord, but unto thy name give we the 
glory." 

TTI. All such reasons for delay as might have operated 
in this particular instance, have now ceased : the time to 
answer the church's prayer was come; and Peter was 
delivered by the means of an angel of the Lord. Previous 
to examining the particulars of the account, it may be 
observed generally, that holy Scripture, in all but innu- 
merable instances, represents angels as employed in con- 
nexion with the affairs of men. In these narratives the 
language is neither figurative nor accommodated, but 
strictly literal. And if it be not literally true, that angels 
have been so employed, then the language of the sacred 
writings is altogether misleading, and our confidence in 
the divine origin of the book, and in the integrity of the 
writers of it, is seriously and unavoidably damaged. It 
may be confidently affirmed, that no man who, with an 
unbiassed mind, reads over this account of Peter's deliver- 
ance from prison, can possibly arrive at any other conclu- 
sion, than that it was preternaturally effected, by the 



IMPRISONED, AND RESCUED BY AN ANGEL. 339 

ministry of an angel ; and that the writer of the account 
intended to represent the deliverance in this light. If no 
more is actually meant, than what certain commentators 
would have us to believe ; namely, that Petei was freed 
from his chains, and enabled to leave the prison, by some 
means unknown to himself, and that he, therefore, under 
the influence of a mere vulgar Jewish prejudice, con- 
veniently ascribed his deliverance to the ministry of an 
angel; — if no more is really meant than this, then we 
say, the whole story is unworthy of consideration ; and it 
were worse than foolish to take the author of it as a 
guide in matters of serious concern. That writer is dis- 
honest, who uses language, the natural meaning of which 
is contrary to truth and fact, unless in some way he gives 
us intimation, that he so uses words in an accommodated, 
a non-natural, or figurative sense. Xo such intimation 
is given here. "We have a plain and literal account of 
what actually took place. 

Within the last few years a class of men has risen 
up in Germany, and even among ourselves, whose chief 
endeavour is to rob the Bible of all its divine character- 
istics ; to explain away the wonderful transactions which 
it records; to account for all its miracles by natural 
philosophy; and to prove that its doctrine of the super- 
natural is mere vulgar Jewish error, to which the sacred 
writers have accommodated their style. If this "philo- 
sophy, falsely so called,' 5 is received, the Bible is at once 
reduced to the level of other books; its doctrines are 



340 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

unauthenticated ; and its divine authority ceases. This 
German Bationalism, which leads to such fearful con- 
sequences, is setting in like a flood ; and it behoves every 
man, who reverences and loves the Bible as the book 
of God, as the book whose divinity is sealed by the 
signs and wonders of its almighty Author, to set himself 
against the tide of evil, and to stand up for the simple 
integrity of the sacred writings. The writers to whom 
we allude are infidels, whether avowed or concealed ; and, 
instead of ministering in holy things, and occupying pro- 
minent places in the seats of learning, and taking part in 
the training of candidates for the sacred office, it were 
an honest thing to cease the profession of Christianity, to 
throw off the mask, and avow themselves to be, what 
in truth they are, mere philosophic infidels. Concerning 
the faith they have lamentably erred; their wisdom and 
their knowledge have perverted them ; they have been 
spoiled through philosophy and vain deceit; and, in the 
pride of their intellectualism, they have fallen from the 
simplicity of the Gospel of Christ. It will be a dark day 
for true religion in these lands, when the rising ministry 
shall be familiarized with the writings of these German 
nationalists, and trained by the admirers and disciples of 
this infidel school. 

No doubt there are a thousand things which are capa- 
ble of an easy explanation by the facts and principles of 
natural science; but the particulars contained in this 
narrative of Peter's deliverance from prison, are such as 



IMPRISONED, AND RESCUED BY AN ANGEL. 341 

cannot possibly be explained in this way. Take, for 
example, the falling off of his chains, — the opening of his 
prison door, withont alarming any of the guards, either 
within the cell or ontside of it, — the passage of the iron 
gate leading into the city, which opened to them of its 
own accord. An earthquake has been suggested, the 
agency of lightning has been called in, to effect these 
wonders. The Christian infidels of whom we are speak- 
ing, will lay themselves under obligation to any thing 
rather than to divine interposition ; they will patronize 
any absurdity, sooner than say, l ' This is the finger of 
God." 

Take the sacred account just as it stands, and all is 
plain, consistent, and beautiful. " Behold, the angel of 
the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison : 
and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, say- 
ing, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his 
hands." He '•'smote" Peter sufficiently to awaken him 
from his sleep ; and, having loosed his fetters, told him to 
"gird himself," and "bind on his sandals," and "'cast 
his garment about him." In sleeping, the outer garment 
was thrown off, and the girdle which bound the inner 
one was loosened, and the sandals were removed from the 
feet. Peter is now directed to arrange his dress in the 
usual way for walking ; to put on his sandals ; to gird up 
his tunic as it was usually worn ; and to put on his outer 
garment, as in ordinary circumstances. The instructions 
of the angel to Peter were, in short, simply equivalent 



342 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETES. 

to telling him to dress himself, preparatory to leaving the 
prison. There appears to have been no particular haste 
in these preparations ; every thing was very deliberately 
done ; and the soldiers, probably under a deep sleep 
from the Lord, were unconscious of what was taking 
place. 

Jerusalem was surrounded by three walls; and it is 
supposed that the prison was situated between two of 
these, — probably between the outer and middle one. By 
the first and second wards which were passed by Peter 
and his guide, we are, perhaps, to understand two gates 
of the prison at which the guards were placed ; and by 
the iron gate leading into the city, one of the gates in the 
inner wall, which, for greater security and strength, was 
plated over with iron. This last gate " opened to them 
of his own accord." No force was applied, no key was 
used ; it opened at the will of Him " who breaketh the 
gates of brass, and cutteth in sunder the bars of iron." 
(Isai. xlv. 2.) 

Peter followed his angelic guide, as it would appear, 
almost mechanically. The occurrence was so unexpected, 
so extraordinary and surprising, that for a while he could 
not comprehend it. " He wist not that it was true which 
was done by the angel ; but thought he saw a vision." 
He was overcome with amazement at what had happened, 
bewildered with the whole of the transactions; and he 
thought they were the events of a dream, until he found him- 
self standing in one of the streets of Jerusalem. Then it was 



IMPRISONED, AND RESCUED BY AN ANGEL. 343 

he recovered from his surprise. The reality of his deliver- 
ance was too plain to be doubted. No chains were upon 
his hands, no soldiers about him, no prison walls around 
him; he was in the open air, in a well-known street, 
and at liberty to go wherever he pleased. " Xow," said 
he, "I know that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath 
delivered me out of the hands of Herod, and from all the 
expectation of the people of the Jews." 

The angel conducted Peter out of the prison into the 
city, and through one street, and then departed from him. 
What neither Peter could do for himself, nor his friends 
do for him, the angel did; but, having done this, and 
placed the Apostle in perfect freedom and safety, so that 
he no longer needed extraordinary aid, he left him to him- 
self. He could find his own way now to some of bis 
friends : an angel was not required to guide him. In the 
dealings of God with his people, there is not, so to speak, 
any unnecessary expenditure of his divine resources. 
Where ordinary means are sufficient, only ordinary means 
are employed. T\ nat his people are able to do in the 
usual way, they are expected to do ; and then, whatever 
may be necessary to be done, beyond the limit of their 
ability, he will accomplish. 

Peter now used his own best judgment ; and " when 
he had considered the thing," — deliberated as to what he 
had better do under the circumstances, — he recollected 
" the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname 
was Mark," and concluded that he had better make the 



344 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

best of Ms way there. It was probably not far off : it 
was the house of a Christian friend, where he would be 
gladly received, and where he could remain until further 
arrangements could be made to insure his safety. No 
doubt Herod would be greatly exasperated ; strict search 
would be made every where ; every available means would 
be employed to recapture him. 

On reaching this house of Mary, Peter "knocked at 
the door of the gate." Houses in the East have fre- 
quently an area before the door, — a porch, or vestibule ; 
and most likely it was at the door of this latter that Peter 
knocked. It is to be remembered, that this was during 
the night, when even ordinarily the gate would be 
fastened; but still more so now, when persecution was 
raging. Probably the meeting for prayer which was 
being held at this moment in the house would be deemed 
an offence, and expose them to the vexatious procedure of 
Herod, if it were known : for fear of the Jews, therefore, 
these persecuted Christians would naturally make all the 
doors fast, for the greater security. While Peter was 
knocking, a damsel named Ehoda came to hearken, or 
rather to ascertain who was there. As soon as she heard 
Peter speak, she knew his voice ; and, as if frantic with 
gladness, instead of opening the door to him at once, she 
ran in to tell the company assembled that Peter was safe, 
and was even now standing at the door. How beautifully 
natural is this account ! Ehoda had been praying with 
the others for Peter's release. He had been released, 



IMPRISONED, AND RESCUED BY AN ANGEL. 345 

though as yet they knew it not. Some one knocks at the 
door ; the damsel goes to ascertain who it is that knocks 
at this time of night. It is too dark for her to recognise 
his person ; but, when he speaks, she instantly knows it 
to be the voice of Peter : the joyful truth breaks suddenly 
upon her mind ; their prayers were answered, the Apostle 
is free ; and she is in a moment transported with joy, and 
hastens into the house to communicate the good news. 
" She opened not the gate for gladness." 

One of the most remarkable things in this account is 
the incredulity with which the information of Ehoda was 
received. The persons to whom the information was com- 
municated had been praying earnestly and continuously 
for the deliverance of Peter. They were engaged in this 
exercise at the very moment ; but when they are told 
that their prayer is answered, that the man himself is at 
the door, they will not believe it, and even charge the 
person who has brought the news with being mad. What 
are we to think of this ? Was their prayer, then, but the 
expression of a forlorn hope? Did they consider it a 
thing altogether out of the question that Peter should be 
delivered ? Did they deem it impossible, and therefore 
charge the bearer of the intelligence with insanity ? Are 
we to conclude that, although they prayed for this very 
thing, they did not pray for it in faith, and consequently 
were not expecting Peter to be rescued? We cannot 
doubt that they prayed in faith. But it might be that 
their faith was generally in the power and grace of God, 



346 SCENES IN THE LIFE OP ST. PETER. 

without implying the expectation of a miracle being 
wrought for Peter's release. And we can easily suppose 
that, if his release had been effected by other than mira- 
culous means, they might have been gradually prepared 
for it ; the thing would probably have been accomplished 
by degrees, and not all at once in the dead of the night. 
But now extraordinary agencies have been at work; the 
rescue is completed ; and at this unusual hour of the night, 
without the least pre-intimation, it is abruptly announced 
by a damsel, who seems half frantic with delight, that 
Peter is at the door. They are surprised and confounded. 
The news are too good to be true. The strangeness of 
the event makes them doubt it ; and they said to Ehoda, 
" Thou art mad. 5 ' 

Perhaps there is nothing more in this than what is 
stated in reference to Israel of old, when they were deli- 
vered from their incredible captivity : " When the Lord 
turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that 
dream. Then was our mouth hlled with laughter, and 
our tongue with singing." So it was with the disciples 
when the resurrection of their Lord was announced: 
" They believed not for joy, and wondered." It is, how- 
ever, the infirmity of our nature to be unbelievingly sur- 
prised at the wondrous works of God. Can any mercy 
be too great for him to bestow upon the needy? Can 
any work be too mighty for him to accomplish in behalf 
of those whom he loves? Can any deliverance be too 
triumphant for his glorious arm to achieve ? Why should 



IMPRISONED, AND RESCUED BY AN ANGEL. 347 

we be surprised? The surprise of delight we may, indeed, 
indidge in; but the surprise of * unbelief 'is to our discredit. 

Some years ago, a Church prayer-meeting was being 
held in a town in the north of England. Earnest prayers 
were being offered up for the effusion of the Holy Spirit, 
and for a revival of the work of God in the town and 
neighbourhood; and, while they were speaking, he gra- 
ciously answered. The power of God came down upon 
the persons present in an unusual manner. Some of 
them were suddenly awakened to a sense of their sin and 
danger, and, like the jailor at Phiiippi, cried aloud, 
"What must we do to be saved?" The pious people 
were astonished. The Minister, though seeing, in the 
effects produced, the gracious power of God put forth in 
answer to their prayer, scarcely knew what to do, in con- 
sequence of the surprise which had been created. It was 
deemed that some of the persons in distress were taken 
with a fit of some sort., and that the others were affected 
merely by sympathy : " it was all purely physical, animal 
excitement, and the effect of an over-wrought imagination." 
The very thing they had been praying for was granted ; 
and they did not believe it. It was not until they had 
thought, conversed, and prayed a while, that they were 
able to believe that God had visited them with his 
salvation. 

Ehoda persisted in her statement that Peter stood at 
the gate : in answer to all they said, as to her being mis- 
taken, dreaniing, or mad, " she constantly affirmed that it 



348 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

was even so. Then said they, It is his angel:' 5 just as, 
in the case alluded to above, they would explain the fact 
in any way rather than believe the simple truth. It has 
been observed on this passage, by a living writer, " How 
much better it would have been to have hastened at once 
to the gate, than thus to have engaged in a controversy 
on the subject ! Peter was suffered to remain knocking 
while they debated the matter. Christians are often 
engaged in some unprofitable controversy, when they 
should hasten to catch the first tokens of the divine 
favour, and open their arms to welcome the proofs that 
God has heard their prayers." 

"It is his angel!" Dr. Hammond thinks that the 
easiest way of understanding this proposed solution of 
their difficulty, is to consider them as speaking of a " mes- 
senger" from Peter, — some one who had come from Peter, 
and in his name. The word " angel" often signifies no 
more than a messenger. It is used of John's messengers, 
(Luke vii. 24, 27,) and of Christ's. (Luke ix. 52.) When 
Rhoda felt confident it was Peter, because she knew his 
voice, they thought it was because he that stood at the 
door had called himself Peter ; and therefore offered this 
solution of the difficulty, cc It is his angel ;" that is, "It is 
one that comes with an errand from him, and thou mis- 
tookest as if it had been he himself." 

Others think that this passage clearly shows the notion 
entertained by the Jews, of a tutelary or guardian angel 
attending each individual saint ; and that they supposed 



IMPRISONED, AND RESCUED BY AN ANGEL. 349 

this angel of Peter had now come with news concerning him, 
and had assumed the voice and form of Peter, to assure 
them that he had come from him. This is possible ; but, 
even if it be admitted, it gives no support at all to the 
opinion, that every saint has a tutelary angel attending 
him. The utmost that can be concluded from the 
account is, that they believed it to be so, not that it is 
true. The holy Scriptures teach no such doctrine ; and 
the simple fact that certain Jews held this opinion, can- 
not, by any means, prove the opinion to be correct. 

Peter, having at length obtained admission, found the 
company in a state of the greatest excitement ; and it was 
with some difficulty that he succeeded in getting them to 
command themselves sufficiently to listen to his account. 
" Beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their 
peace," he " declared unto them how the Lord had 
brought him out of the prison." Having satisfied their 
curiosity, and tilled them with thankfulness and praise to 
God on his behalf, he withdrew from them to a place of 
greater safety. Eomanists say, ridiculously enough, that 
he went to Rome. This is like many other things, which 
they find easy to say, but impossible to prove. 

Diligent search was made, but made in vain, for Peter ; 
and Herod, disappointed and furious, turned his wrath 
against the keepers of the prison. He examined them, 
with a view to finding out how the rescue had been 
effected ; but, probably, they could give him no informa- 
tion; and "he commanded that they should be put to 



350 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

death." Herod's own dark day of reckoning was at 
hand ; and the unprincipled persecutor was made a signal 
example of the just judgment of God. 

The days of persecution for righteousness' sake are not 
ended. In our own happy land, indeed, we have rest and 
liberty ; pray God it may continue to be so, and that we 
may have grace to improve our advantages ! But there 
are other lands where religious liberty is denied, where 
the civil power keeps the conscience of the subject, and it 
is a punishable crime to preach the Gospel, to meet for 
prayer, or to possess and read the book of God. Nor are 
the laws which constitute these things criminal, dead 
letters. They are enforced. And Christian men and 
women are now in prison in the Papal States for such 
offences. The church is one throughout the world. Is 
it praying for these? Eemember Francesco and Rosa 
Madiai! the dungeons of Florence, and the Duke of 
Tuscany ! 



SCENE XIIL 

THE CLOSING SCENE. 

" Verily, verily, I say unto tL.ee, When thou wast young, thou gird- 
edst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest : hut when 
thou shalt he old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another 
shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This 
spake He, signifying hy what death he should glorify God." — 
John xxi. 18, 19. 

" Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tahernacle, to stir you 
up by putting you in remembrance; knowing that shortly I 
must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ 
hath showed me." — .2 Peter i. 13, 14. 

Human life is a journey; and the question is, Where 
will it end ? It is a voyage : what port shall we make ? 
It is our season of probation : how will it terminate ? It 
is a day : when will it close ? TVho among us is able to 
answer these inquiries, with respect either to ourselves or 
to others, and thus to gratify such curiosity as a man may 
feel in regard to his own future, or such as Peter felt in 
regard to John, when he said, " Lord, and what shall this 
man do?" There is none to answer. Every avenue of 
information is closed ; every oracle is dumb ; and an 
impenetrable veil conceals the future from our view. 
The end itself is, indeed, certain. The sentence has gone 
forth against us ; it cannot be repealed > and " we must 

A A 



352 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

needs die." But, beyond this fact, what can we know ? 
The time, the place, the cause, and the circumstances of 
our death are all wisely hidden from our sight. 

For important reasons, no doubt, although they are not 
explained to us, it pleased the Eedeemer partially to draw 
aside the curtain, and disclose to his servant Peter the 
manner of his death. This was done, at an early period 
of his public career, during a memorable interview with 
Christ, to which attention has already been directed. An 
important commission was intrusted to him; the duties 
of it were specified; and then Peter was solemnly told 
"by what death he should glorify God." The circum- 
stances connected with the actual fulfilment of these words 
are involved in considerable obscurity and doubt. There 
is little that can be affirmed with absolute certainty ; and 
to the questions, "When, and where, and how was the 
prediction fulfilled?" we can, at the best, give but a pro- 
bable reply. 

The principal difficulty, however, lies with the second 
of these questions. For, as to the first, it is generally 
admitted that some thirty-four years elapsed between the 
deliverance of the prediction and its actual accomplish- 
ment; and no conclusion of moment depends upon the 
precise year of Peter's death. And then, with regard to 
the third question, there is a tolerable unanimity of opi- 
nion. It is not disputed that Peter suffered martyrdom, 
and that by the means of crucifixion. Whether he was 
crucified in the usual posture, or with his head down- 



THE CLOSING SCENE. 353 

vards at his own request, may have been debated; but 
:hat he was crucified is admitted by both ancient and 
modern writers. 

The words of the prediction have been commonly 
understood to indicate this particular kind of death. They 
did not merely certify the fact of Peter's death; that 
was, of course, altogether unnecessary. He knew that he 
must die, without any special revelation to that effect; 
but these words were spoken by Christ, " signifying by 
ichat death he should glorify God." It was the manner 
of his death, and not the death itself, to which the pre- 
diction pointed; and, no doubt, the words employed 
served to convey a definite idea to Peter's mind, whatever 
difficulty we may have in perceiving how they describe 
the hind of death which he should die. 

Beside this particular prediction in reference to Peter, 
our Lord delivered, on another occasion, a comprehensive 
one with respect to the Apostles and others employed by 
him in the establishment of his kingdom. "Behold, I 
send unto you Prophets, and wise men, and scribes : and 
some of them ye shall kill and crucify ; and some of them 
shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them 
from city to city." Christ here tells the Jews, that, 
among the other crimes by which the measure of their 
iniquity would be filled up, would be this one of putting 
to death, crucifying, some of his Apostles. Nieolaus de 
Lyra, an eminent theologian of the fourteenth century, 
thus paraphrases the verse : " Some of them you will kill, 
2 a 2 



354 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

as James, and Stephen, and many more; and others you 
will crucify, as Peter and Andrew." 

Crucifixion was at once the most ignominious, painful, 
and lingering mode of putting criminals to death. It was 
inflicted upon slaves, robbers, assassins, rebels, and the 
very worst offenders. Previous to undergoing this punish- 
ment, the criminal was usually scourged with cords, and 
not unfrequently pieces of bone or of lead were attached 
to the ends of the cords ; and the scourging was so severe 
that many died under it. It was also customary for the 
condemned person to cany his own cross to the place of 
execution. Thus lacerated, and writhing with pain, the 
sufferer was stripped and fastened to the cross, either by 
spikes driven through the hands into the wood, or else by 
cords round the wrists and ancles. A hole was dug to 
receive the foot of the cross, which was then lifted up 
with the agonized wretch upon it, and allowed to fall 
suddenly into the hole. This violent jerk must have 
occasioned the most excruciating pain, by dislocating the 
joints and tearing the flesh. The whole weight of the 
body could not be borne up by the fastenings already 
named; there was, therefore, about the middle of the 
perpendicular portion of the cross, a projecting piece of 
wood, on which the person sat, or, as it were, rode, thus 
giving additional support to the body. " The process of 
nailing must have been exquisite torture; but what 
ensued was worse than the actual infliction. The spikes 
rankled, the wounds inflamed, the local injury produced a 



THE CLOSING SCENE. 355 

general fever, the fever a most intolerable thirst ; but the 
misery of miseries to the sufferer was, to be fixed in a 
position which did not allow him to writhe. Every 
attempt to relieve the muscles, — every instinctive move- 
ment of anguish, — only seiwed to drag the lacerated flesh, 
and to awake up new and acuter pangs ; and this torture 
must have been continually aggravating, till advancing 
death lulled it to sleep, lasting, nevertheless, in many 
sufferers, as long as two or three days." * And even 
after the mortal anguish was past, the bodies were often 
allowed to remain, to be devoured by beasts or birds of 
prey; or to present the most frightful objects of loath- 
someness and putrefaction. 

In a work recently published by Mr. T, C. Simon, on 
"The Mission and Martyrdom of St. Peter," he endea- 
vours to show, that the posture of Peter, while being cru- 
cified, is indicated by the words of the prediction. His 
observations are here given: "In John xxi. 18 and 19, 
we have our Lord's prediction, that Peter was to be cruci- 
fied with his head downwards, in his old age. The man- 
ner of the crucifixion we gather from the girdle, (or zone.) 
put on after the person was fastened to the cross by the 
hands and feet with nails 3 or by the wrists and ancles 
with cords. In the ordinary posture of crucifixion, the 
body was not sustained, (as is commonly supposed,) and 
could not possibly be sustained, by the fastening of the 

* J. Parrar. 



356 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

hands alone, bnt was also supported by a seat, or rest, at 
the middle of the cross, as we learn from Justin Martyr 
and other early writers. This is well known to divines. 
When the posture of the body was reversed, it was neces- 
sary to adopt a different expedient for supporting its 
weight. This is the girdle alluded to by our Lord's 
words, with which the whole body, at the hips, was bound 
to the cross, and which was put on before the cross was 
set up in the hole dug for it. That this posture was con- 
sidered (at least, as late as the Middle Ages) to be implied 
in our Lord's prediction, may be seen in the work on 
1 The Destruction of Jerusalem,' which was once errone- 
ously attributed to Hegesippus : c Peter was crucified ' (says 
this book) c with his head downwards, at his own request ; 
either because it was so it was to happen, as Christ had 
predicted it, or because his persecutors willingly granted 
him an increase of torture. 5 And, with regard to this 
mode of crucifying the Christians with the head down- 
wards, Eusebius tells us, in the eighth and twelfth 
chapters of his Eighth Book, that it was not a veiy 
unusual practice in the countries in which the Jews had 
the ascendancy ; and that on the Euphrates, even a little 
before his own time, in the districts around Babylon, 
smoking wood was often placed near the head of the vic- 
tim thus suspended, in order to aggravate the sufferings, 
or to accelerate the death.'* 

Such was the tragical termination of an eventful life. 
This was the goal which Peter had distinctly in view for 



THE CLOSING SCENE. 357 

upwards of thirty years. His Divine Master bad told him 
plainly that he must suffer in his cause, — suffer in this 
particular way ; and Peter was content that it should be 
so. The prospect of suffering neither lessened his affec- 
tion for Christ, nor abated his zeal in the furtherance of 
his cause. The path of duty was before him, and he was 
imappalled by the sight of the cross which stood at the 
end of it. His step never faltered, never declined from 
the way. He steadily moved on in the Mnlment of his 
sacred mission, blessing men with Kght and salvation, 
extending the Bedeemer's kingdom, and promoting his 
glory among the nations. His life was one of toil and 
vicissitude ; but it was cheerfully employed in the service of 
Him whom he ardently loved. He followed Christ, through, 
evil report and through good report, — followed him to the 
death. Having run his course, and completed the work 
Christ had given him to do, he stretches forth his hands, 
and another girds him to the cross. 

But where did this event take place ? Was Peter cruci- 
fied in the East or in the West ? in Parthia or in Eome ? 
This is an interesting and somewhat important question, 
but one which it is extremely difficult, if not altogether 
impossible, to answer in a satisfactory manner. On the 
one hand, the New Testament contains nothing direct or 
conclusive in reference to it ; and there is but confused, 
scanty, inferential, and traditionary information on the 
other. We can only, therefore, examine and weigh the 
evidence adduced, and try to ascertain the side on which 



358 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEE. 

it preponderates. But even this cannot well be done 
without raising the vexed question, " Did Peter ever visit 
Rome?" And, considering the amount of learning and 
ability with which this question has been discussed during 
the course of centuries, we might well be deterred from 
any attempt at dealing with it now. But there are a few 
considerations connected with this question, and lying 
within the range of the general reader, a brief notice of 
which may be both acceptable and edifying. The writer's 
views have not been hastily adopted, or formed without 
considerable care ; but he has felt himself shut up to the 
conclusion, that St. Peter never left the East, and, conse- 
quently, never visited Rome. The reasons which have 
satisfied the writer, may not satisfy the reader ; but they 
are here, in a comprehensive form, submitted to his 
judgment. 

Although it be true, as already intimated, that the 
sacred writings furnish no direct or decisive information, 
we are not, therefore, hastily to conclude that their evidence 
is unimportant. Indirect it may be, but it will be found 
to have considerable force. There are several facts which, 
though they have no immediate connexion with the history 
of St. Peter, may nevertheless imply very much concern- 
ing him. There is no inconsiderable amount of negative 
proof, which, fairly taken, may go far to settle the dis- 
pute ; and especially as it appears that the writings of the 
Christian Fathers do not contain such plain and unequi- 
vocal statements of Peter's having visited or lived in 



THE CLOSING SCENE. 359 

Home, as many have supposed. Certain expressions are 
used by them, — certain allusions are made to Peter and 
to Iris martyrdom, to the extent and the success of his 
apostolic labours, — from which inferences are drawn, 
and upon which arguments more or less plausible are 
founded; but nothing like a simple, bond fide assertion 
that St. Peter ever dwelt in the imperial city, can be pro- 
duced. Leaving this, however, for the present, let us 
confine our attention to the books of the Xew Testament ; 
a single clear intimation of which is entitled to far greater 
consideration than all that the Fathers contain. 

It is to be observed here, that there are several years 
of St. Peter's life with respect to which the Scriptures are 
silent. From the time when he was present at the 
Council held at Jerusalem in the year 49 or 51, till his 
death, which is generally supposed to have taken place 
about the year 64 or 65, there are some fifteen years of 
which we have no account by the sacred writers. They 
neither tell us nrhere Peter was, nor what he was doing, 
during all those years. The narrative is taken up chiefly 
with, the labours and journeyings of St. Paul. It is, however, 
tolerably certain that St. Peter had not left the East pre- 
vious to the Jerusalem Council. His first alleged visit to 
Eome, prior to that date, is now generally abandoned ; 
and we will therefore assume, that the inquiry as to the 
probable scene of his labours relates to the years subse- 
quent to that event. 

"What is there, then, to guide us in this inquiry? 



360 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEIt. 

Have we any clue to where St. Peter exercised his minis- 
try and apostleship ? We think we have. 

In the first place, there is the fact that St. Peter was the 
Apostle of the circumcision. When the twelve Apostles 
were originally sent forth, they were carefully instructed 
to confine their ministry to the Jews. Jesus "com- 
manded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, 
and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not : but go 
rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 1 " This 
commission was renewed, immediately before the Saviour's 
ascension, in an extended form, so as to include the Gen- 
tiles ; but even then it contained a clause in favour of the 
Jews, a clause which gave them a primary interest in the 
ministry of the twelve. The Gospel was to be preached in 
all the world, — repentance and the remission of sins were 
to be offered, in the name of Christ, among all nations, 
" beginning at Jerusalem." And St. Paul, arguing from 
this very arrangement, says, " It was necessary that the 
word of God should first have been spoken to you : but 
seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unwor- 
thy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles." (Acts 
xiii. 46.) 

It is true that St. Peter had the honour of opening the 
Gospel dispensation to the Gentiles, by preaching to a 
Gentile congregation assembled in the house of Cornelius 
at Csesarea, and composed of the kinsmen and near friends 
of this Eoman Captain. But though it had pleased God 
that the Gentiles should thus, by the mouth of Peter, hear 



THE CLOSING SCENE. 361 

the word of the Gospel and believe, still his mission was 
specifically to the Jews : his work, as an Apostle oi 
Jesus Christ, was chiefly among "the lost sheep of the 
house of Israel." This is clearly and strongly affirmed, 
as we think, in the statement of St. Paul in his Epistle to 
the Galatians : " When they saw that the Gospel of the 
uncircuincision was committed nnto me, as the Gospel oi 
the circumcision was unto Peter; (for he that wrought 
effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, 
the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles ;) they 
gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship ; 
that we should go unto the Heathen, and they unto the 
circumcision." Now, while we are not to understand 
from this that St. Paul was to preach only to the Gentiles, 
and St. Peter only to the Jews, we are nevertheless bound 
to assume that the principal part of the labours of each 
would be with the Jew and the Gentile respectively. 
There was a clear understanding come to on this point : 
it was agreed that St. Paul should exercise his ministry 
among the Gentiles, and that St. Peter should exercise his 
among the Jews. Peter need not, in consequence of this, 
confine his labours to Judea ; but we think it reasonable 
to conclude that, when at any time he travelled beyond 
the limits of his own country, it would only be to those 
parts which contained a considerable Jewish population. 

Every thing seems to intimate that Peter faithfully ful- 
filled the duties of his commission, that he made full proof 
of his apostleship among them that were of the circum- 



362 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEK. 

cision. This, indeed, may be gathered from his Epistles. 
They were addressed to the " strangers scattered abroad 
throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithy- 
nia." Now, although the phrase, "strangers scattered 
abroad," may be applied to all truly pious people, (for 
all the saints of God " are strangers and pilgrims, seek- 
ing a better country, that is, an heavenly,") yet we cannot 
but think that here it has a distinct reference to "the 
lost sheep of the house of Israel," the Jews of the disper- 
sion, the Jews who had been driven from their own coun- 
try by persecution, and compelled to seek refuge in those 
heathen provinces to which the influence of their perse- 
cuting brethren did not extend. To these, therefore, the 
Apostle of the circumcision gave his special attention and 
sympathy. And although we may very well suppose that 
in those places there were many of St. Paul's converts, 
it is not at all an improbable conjecture that St. Peter 
had also lived and laboured among them for a season. 
They were Gentile provinces, it is true, but comprising 
large numbers of Jews; and therefore forming an appro- 
priate sphere both for Peter and Paul. 

It is not consistent with the speciality of St. Peter's 
apostleship that he should have gone to labour either in 
Koine or in any other Gentile city, except on the one con- 
dition, that it contained a considerable number of Jews. 
Now, with respect to Eome, it can be clearly shown that 
the number of Jews resident there was inconsiderable, and 
that, very shortly before the time when it is said Peter 



THE CLOSING SCENE. 363 

went to Eonie, the Jews had been banished both from the 
imperial city and from Italy. What business, therefore, 
could Peter have in Eome? "The lost sheep of the 
house of Israel " were not there for him to gather. The 
capital of the world was the place for St. Paul, and not 
for St. Peter. 

If it be said that Peter laboured in Corinth, it will not 
weaken our position. It is by no means certain that he 
did so. It has been inferred from one or two passages in 
St. Paul's Epistles to the Corinthians ; and possibly the 
inference is legitimate. But it is to be observed that the 
population of this celebrated city was by no means exclu- 
sively a Gentile one, and that even there St. Peter had not 
travelled beyond the appointed sphere of his apostleship. 
Nor would he have done so, if he had gone to Alexandria, 
which contained about a million of Jews ; or to Babylon, 
in which there were perhaps two hundred and fifty 
thousand; or to the province of Babylonia, containing 
upwards of two millions of Jews. Places such as these, 
and the others named in his Eirst Epistle, formed the 
appropriate sphere for the Apostle of the circumcision. 
On the whole, therefore, we have a strong presumptive 
argument in favour of Peter having lived and laboured in 
the East, and against his having gone into the West. 
The persons upon whom he was to exercise his ministry 
were located in the former, and not in the latter. 

In the second place, we find that the Epistles of St. 
Pete?* were written from Babylon. It is probable that the 



364 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEE. 

First Epistle was written about the year 60, and the 
Second not very long after it. At the close of the First 
we find these words : " The church that is at Babylon, 
elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth 
Marcus my son." No one doubts that, at the time of 
writing this Epistle, Peter was residing in the place 
called Babylon. And if there had not been a purpose to 
answer, — a particular theory to maintain, — it is scarcely 
likely that a controversy would ever have been raised, as 
to what city the Apostle meant by " Babylon." The suppo- 
sition that the name is mystically employed, is wholly 
gratuitous. There is not a tittle of evidence in support 
of it ; and it is altogether inconsistent with the character 
of the document in which the name occurs. It is impos- 
sible to conceive that, in any one of the churches to whom 
the Epistle was addressed, persons, on receiving it, and 
finding it dated from Babylon, could have the most dis- 
tant idea that the writer meant by "Babylon," Jerusalem, 
Eome, or some other place. All the arguments in favour 
of a mystical interpretation of the word "Babylon," have 
been triumphantly answered, especially by Michaelis, who 
thus concludes his observations : "It appears, then, that 
the arguments which have been alleged to show that St. 
Peter did not write his First Epistle in the country of 
Babylonia, are devoid of foundation; and, consequently, 
the notion of a mystical Babylon, as denoting either 
Jerusalem or Borne, loses its whole support. For in 
itself the notion is highly improbable ; and therefore the 



THE CLOSING SCENE. 365 

bare possibility that St. Peter took a journey to Babylon, 
properly so called; renders it inadmissible. The plain 
language of epistolary writing does not admit of the 
figures of poetry ; and, though it would be very allowable, 
in a poem written in honour of Gottingen, to style it 
'another Athens,' yet if a Professor in this University 
should, in a letter written from Gottingen, date it c Athens/ 
it would be a greater piece of pedantry than ever was 
laid to the charge of the learned. In like manner, though 
a figurative use of the word - Babylon' is not unsuited to 
the animated and poetical language of the Apocalypse, 
yet St. Peter, in a plain and unadorned Epistle, would 
hardly have called the place where he wrote by any 
other appellation than that which literally and properly 
belonged to it." 

Some writers, while admitting that " Babylon " is to be 
taken literally, and not mystically, are nevertheless of opi- 
nion, that we are not to understand the Ancient Babylon on 
the Euphrates, but Seleucia, or Modern Babylon, on the 
Tigris. This latter city was built by Seleucus Nicator, at the 
distance of three hundred stadia, or about forty miles, from 
Ancient Babylon. To this city a great many Jews repaired ; 
and at one time, as Josephus informs us, the number of 
Jews in Seleucia was so great, that although nearly fifty 
thousand of them were slaughtered in the factious quarrels 
of the Syrians and Greeks, yet such of them as escaped 
were able, with such other Jews of Babylonia as had 
rendered themselves obnoxious, to hold out the strong 



366 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETEK. 

cities of INTeerda and Nisibis against the united force of 
those Seleucians and Babylonians that were opposed to 
them. This city of Seleucia, it is alleged, was sometimes 
called " Modern Babylon ;" and it is supposed by certain 
writers that it was from it St. Peter wrote his Epistles. 
Ci It is true," says Michaelis, " that Lucan, Sidonius 
Apollinaris, and Stephanas Byzantinus, gave the name of 
Babylon to Seleucia; but the last two of these writers 
lived so late as the fifth century, and therefore their 
authority is, perhaps, not sufficient that Seleucia was 
called Babylon in the first century. Lucan, indeed, was 
a contemporary with St. Peter ; but then he uses this word 
in an epic poem, in which a writer is not bound by the 
same rule as in prose : and it is not improbable that he 
selected the word e Babylon,' because, partly, its celebrity 
added pomp to his diction, and, partly, because neither 
Ctesiphon nor Seleucia would have suited the verse. The 
writer of an Epistle, on the contrary, can allow himself no 
such latitude ; and perspicuity requires that, in the date of 
his Epistle, he should use no other name for the town 
where he writes, than that which properly belongs to it. 
If, therefore, St. Peter had really written at Seleucia, he 
would have hardly called this city by the name of c Baby- 
lon,' though this name was sometimes applied to it ; con- 
sequently, it is most probable that St. Peter wrote his 
Eirst Epistle in Ancient Babylon on the Euphrates." 

How strange it is to see men giving themselves so much 
unnecessary trouble to explain a thing which unlettered 



THE CLOSING SCENE. 367 

people find no difficulty in at all ! Any plain reader of the 
Holy Scriptures would have understood at once that St. 
Peter meant Babylon, when he wrote the word ; and no 
other city would be thought of but the ancient capital of 
Chaldea. Perhaps, however, Seleucia, or Modern Baby- 
lon, was thought of by the learned, under an impression 
that the ancient city was extinct in the days of St. Peter, 
or, at any rate, so much reduced as to make it highly 
improbable that he should have laboured in it as an Apos- 
tle. An opinion of this sort has certainly been enter- 
tained ; but it is difficult to account for it, as nothing can 
be more incorrect. It can be demonstrated by numerous 
testimonies of credible historians, that, although greatly 
reduced from its former peerless magnificence, it was still, 
in the Apostle's time, a city of considerable importance, 
and reckoned the metropolis of the Jews out of Judea ; 
and, as we shall presently show, was one of the most likely 
spheres for St. Peter's ministry. 

Josephus, in speaking of the return of the Jews from 
Babylon in the time of Ezra, gives us to understand, that 
the great bulk of the people did not return to Jerusalem, 
but remained in Babylon. His words are, " The entire 
body of the people of Israel remained in that country; 
wherefore there are but two tribes in Asia and Europe 
subject to the Romans, while the ten tribes are beyond 
the Euphrates until now, and are an immense multitude, 
and not to be estimated by numbers." According to this 
testimony of a writer contemporary with St. Peter, there 

B B 



368 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

were innumerable multitudes of Jews in Babylonia in his 
time, the descendants of the Jews of the Captivity. 
Besides, there were many others who were attracted to 
this province by the two famous seats of Jewish learning, 
Neharda and Susa; and a still larger number were 
driven here by persecution from their bigoted countrymen 
in Judea. 

Philo, another Jew, and also contemporary with St. 
Peter, says, that the Jews at Babylon appeared to consti- 
tute about one-half of the inhabitants; and, in another 
place, this writer speaks of them as the chief occupants of 
Babylon and its neighbourhood, and as being so nume- 
rous, that Petronius, the Syrian Prefect, was deterred by 
their numbers from withdrawing, as Caligula had ordered 
him, one-half of the Roman forces from the Euphrates to 
Judea, to insist on the Emperor's statue being placed in 
the temple at Jerusalem. 

In the work to which reference has already been made, 
the author adduces numerous authorities as to the state 
of Babylon in the days of St. Peter, and clearly establishes 
the following points : That Babylon was then the same 
peculiarly-constructed city as ever, consisting, as from its 
first foundation, of an enclosed area of about two hundred 
square miles, of which the greater part was, as it always 
had been, laid out in pasture, tillage, and plantations, 
little more than a twentieth of the whole being occupied 
with the dwellings of the inhabitants, and these, for the 
most part, detached from one another ; that it was then 



THE CLOSING SCENE. 369 

within the Parthian territory ; that it was used as a coun- 
try residence by the Kings of Parthia, one of its palaces 
being not only kept in repair, but handsomely decorated ; 
that its population was not much less than half a million, 
and that half of these were Jews ; that, though not adapted 
for military purposes, the Kings of Parthia kept a garrison 
there ; and that, even half a century after Peter's time, 
when the Emperor Trajan went there, he was obliged to 
take it by force of arms, as Dio Cassias and Eutropius 
inform us, and placed a Eoman garrison in it in order to 
retain it. Theodoret, (a.d. 459.) one of the Bishops on 
the Euphrates, remarks, in his " Commentary on the 
Thirteenth. Chapter of Isaiah," that Babylon, in his day, 
was wholly occupied by Jews; and St. Chrysostom 
reminds us that there were Jews from Babylon, among 
those Parthians who were at Jerusalem when St. Peter 
commenced his foundation of the churches, at the Peast 
of Pentecost, immediately after the Ascension. (Acts ii. 9.) 
On the whole, therefore, it is plain that the province of 
Babylonia contained the largest number of Jews to be 
found any where out of Judea ; that the ancient city was 
still a place of considerable importance ; that it contained 
some two hundred and fifty thousand of " the lost sheep of 
the house of Israel ; " that the Babylonians were, as Joseph 
Scaliger says, the head of the Asiatic dispersion, as is 
clear from innumerable passages of the Talmud ; and that 
such a Jewish colony, with its origin, historical associa- 
tions, influence, and central position, had special claims 
2 B 2 



370 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

upon apostolic sympathy and care, and must have presented 
the most attractive and peculiarly appropriate sphere for 
the labours of the Apostle of the circumcision. And, as the 
only indication we have of Peter's residence, during the 
fifteen years subsequent to the Council at Jerusalem, 
represents him as writing letters from this very place to 
the churches in the provinces immediately contiguous, as 
living here, and, by his Epistles, serving the surrounding 
churches, the presumptive evidence is strong indeed that 
this region had been the principal scene of his labours 
and successes. 

And now it is to be observed, that the Second of these 
Epistles, which was written to the same persons, was evi- 
dently composed but a short time before his decease. He 
thus speaks in it : " Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am 
in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in 
remembrance ; knowing that shortly I must put off this 
my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed 
me." It is not unlikely, that, in addition to the predic- 
tion recorded by John, St. Peter had received a further 
intimation of his approaching martyrdom; at any rate, 
his language implies that he believed that event to be at 
hand. And with such an impression on his mind, there 
is no probability in the supposition, that he undertook 
so distant a journey as that to the imperial city. He felt, 
when he wrote this Second Epistle, that he had finished 
his Master's work, and only desired to leave one other 
legacy to the church. He was preparing to render 



THE CLOSING SCENE. 371 

up his account, and only waited to be summoned 
hence. 

In pursuing our examination of the presumptive evi- 
dence of New-Testament writings, in relation to the ques- 
tion we are now considering, we remark once more, that 
St. Paul, though visiting Eome, and residing in it, at one 
time, for two years, and writing several of his Epistles 
from it, never once alludes to St. Peter having been in that 
city. The Epistle to the Eomans was written in the year 
58; it does not contain the most distant reference to 
Peter. And this is the more remarkable, as " St. Paul is 
profuse in salutations, occupies a whole chapter in nothing 
else, and salutes a multitude of persons employed in the 
church. If we should say St. Peter was absent, we can- 
not escape the difficulty ; for not only does Paul abstain 
from saluting Peter, but he writes positively to this flock 
as to a flock which had never yet seen an Apostle. c I 
am ready,' he says, c to preach the Gospel to you that are 
at Eome also;' that is, to preach the Gospel to the 
Christians of Eome, — the flock of another, and that other 
the Prince of Apostles, established as their Bishop for 
some years ! It is well known that St. Paul preferred to 
preach the Gospel where no other Apostle had preceded 
him ; and, nevertheless, he sends to the Christians of 
this city exhortation and rules ; he desires to communi- 
cate to them some spiritual gift; he praises them, he 
instructs them, he encourages them by name ; and yet, in 
all this, not one word can be found which can be con- 



372 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

strued into a reference to any residence, present or past, 
of St. Peter in this city. What would any Bishop say to 
a Priest, or even to a colleague, who should write in this 
manner to a flock over which he had presided for years ? 
Doubtless, if such an one should come to his assistance, 
with the respect due from one colleague to another, he 
would receive him with gratitude ; but if, on the contrary, 
he should make no mention whatever of the Bishop, 
reprove, instruct, correct his flock, as though he were not 
in existence, he might be naturally led to inquire who he 
was, and to advise him to abstain from meddling with 
the duties of others. St. Paul salutes, in this flock, five 
distinct classes of those who, it is asserted, were under 
the special charge of St. Peter, and, by name, twenty-six 
different persons, several of whom he designates as his 
helpers in Christ : and not a word of St. Peter." * 

St. Paul arrived in Borne in the year 61 or 62, and 
dwelt there for two years. Immediately after his arrival, 
he called together the chief of the Jews, and informed 
them of the cause of his coming to Eome. They answered, 
"We neither received letters out of Judea concerning 
thee, neither any of the brethren that came showed or 
spake any harm of thee. But we desire to hear of thee 
what thou thinkest : for as concerning this sect, we know 
that every where it is spoken against." Nothing can be 
plainer than that St. Peter neither was in Borne at that 

* Dr. Scheler. 



THE CLOSING SCENE. 373 

time, nor had ever been among these people. During 
this residence of two years at Eome, St. Paul wrote his 
Epistles to the Philippians, to the Colossians, to the 
Ephesians, to Philemon, and, as is supposed, to the He- 
brews : in none of them does he mention Peter. And it 
might very well be argued from the clear view which 
these Epistles give us of the condition of the Eoman 
church, that its members had never had the benefit of 
St. Peter's ministry. 

The last Epistle written by St. Paul was the Second 
to Timothy. When he wrote it, he was "ready to be 
offered up, and the time of his departure was at hand;" 
and he urgently requests Timothy to visit him : "Do thy 
diligence to come shortly unto me : for Demas hath for- 
saken me, having loved this present world, and is departed 
unto Thessalonica ; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dal- 
matia. Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring 
him with thee : for he is profitable to me for the ministry. 
At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men 
forsook me : I pray God that it may not be laid to their 
charge. Eubulus greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, 
and Claudia, and all the brethren." Now it is impossible 
to believe that St. Peter was in Eome at the time when 
St. Paul wrote this letter. And we cannot believe that 
he was in Eome when St. Paul appeared before Nero on 
the former occasion, without implying the greatest reflec- 
tion on Peter, for unfeeling and cowardly conduct, in 
abandoning St. Paul in the hour of his trial and peril. 



374 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

" There are six times in which St. Paul was either at 
Eome, or wrote to and from that city, for the edification 
of the churches. In one year he wrote thrice from thence. 
At another time he remained two full years preaching in 
his own hired house ; including, on the whole, a period of 
not less than thirteen or fourteen years. The Apostle 
gives no account that Peter was expected there subse- 
quent to any of his visits, or that he was there previous to 
his arrival, or during his stay. Yet St. Paul governed 
the affairs of the church at Eome, gave directions for 
their conduct, and mentioned by name, in his salutations, 
all the principal Christians in the city, whether men or 
women. Still he says not one word about Peter, who, 
according to the Eomanists, had his throne there, and 
governed the church, previous to Paul's arrival, during his 
residence, and after his departure. Certainly, if Peter 
had been at Eome, some mention would have been made 
of it by Paul. Indeed, there is no evidence that Peter 
ever was in that city." * 

Prom this brief outline, it will be seen that the New 
Testament furnishes a strong presumption that the Apostle 
of the circumcision never left the East, but continued, till 
the day of his death, exercising his ministry among his 
own countrymen, and gathering " the lost sheep of the 
house of Israel" into the fold of Christ, If this negative 
proof be duly considered, it can hardly fail to bring us 
to the conclusion which Dr. Adam Clarke thus expresses : 

* Elliott. 



THE CLOSING SCENE. 375 

"lam still of opinion that St. Peter did not write from 
Eome ; that he was neither Bishop of Home, nor martyred 
at Eome ; in a word, that he never saw Eome. 55 

And now, as to the writings of the Fathers of the 
Christian church in relation to this matter, pray, what do 
they amonnt to ? There is nothing contained in them but 
what is either uncertain as to its authorship, inferential 
in its character, or most vaguely traditionary. We will 
venture to affirm, that the whole of what has at any time 
been adduced from these writings, in support of the notion 
that St. Peter lived and laboured and suffered in Eome, 
does not amount to half so strong a presumption that he 
did so, as the New Testament supplies that he did not. 
It so happens, too, that some of the testimonies on which 
the upholders of Peter's labours and martyrdom at Eome 
have most confidently relied, are demonstrably spurious, 
or incorrectly quoted, or falsely construed. Several of 
them were not written by the persons to whom they have 
been ascribed; as in the instance of Hegesippus, who 
lived in the second century, and was alleged to have 
written a little work on " The Destruction of Jerusalem, 55 
but which was a production of the Middle Ages ; or in 
that of Lactantius, who lived in the fourth century, and 
to whom was attributed the authorship of a Tract " On 
the Deaths of the Persecutors, 55 but which was in reality 
written in the seventeenth century. Both of these works 
contained something in favour of Peter's having been ra 
Eome - 3 but, unfortunately, they are spurious, 



376 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

As an example of fictitious reference to the Fathers, 
we cite the following from Dr. Wiseman's M Lectures on 
the Doctrines of the Catholic Church/' with the remarks 
of Paber, in his work on Transubstantiation : " After 
observing that, among the moderns, no ecclesiastical 
writer of any eminence pretends to deny the fact, that 
Peter was the first Bishop of Rome, the Lecturer, in evi- 
dence of the fact, cites Irenseus as speaking in the terms 
following : ' To Peter, succeeded Linus ; to Linus, Ana- 
cletus ; then, in the third place, Clement.' ( c Iren. Adv. 
Mares., lib. iii., cap. 3.') I have carefully given the cita- 
tion, with its appended reference, precisely as both are 
given by Dr. Wiseman ; and I readily admit, that the 
passage, purporting to be cited from the oldest author who 
details the foundation of the Eoman Church, and the suc- 
cession of her early Bishops down to Eleutherius, the 
twelfth, clearly and distinctly propounds Peter to have 
been the first Bishop of this Church, and Linus to have 
been his immediate successor. This I readily admit ; and 
no thanks to me, for the adduced passage is imperative ; 
but, unluckily for Dr. Wiseman's cited testimony, no such 
passage occurs, either in the place referred to, or, I will 
venture to say, in any other place of the work of Irenseus. 
The account which that very ancient Father really gives of 
the matter, differs toto coslo from that which, through the 
medium of a non-occurring citation, is gravely ascribed to 
him by Dr. Wiseman." 

Eusebius is often referred to, as giving the sanction of 



THE CLOSING SCENE. 377 

his authority to the opinion of Peter's martyrdom at Rome. 
We ask, Is there any thing in Eusebius beyond a mere 
conjecture, that, as Peter's relics had been found at Rome 
in the fourth century, when Constantine was there, the 
Apostle might have suffered at Rome, and not at Babylon, 
as the Second Epistle of Peter intimates ? His words are, 
M It is not improbable that during the time Peter was pro- 
claiming the Gospel to the Jews of the Dispersion, he 
may have resided in Pontus, and Galatia, and Bithvnia. 

' * 3 

in Cappadocia, and Asia, and even that he may have been 
finally at Rome, where he was crucified with his head 
downwards, he having himself also considered that it was 
in this posture he was to die." Does Eusebius give us 
any thing stronger than this in relation to Peter's having 
been at Rome? Does he quote any evidence that is not 
strictly inferential ? In fact, all the proof adduced either 
from him or others consists of allusions to the writings, 
labours, martyrdom, and relics of St. Peter, from which 
certain inferences are drawn. 

If it be urged as a thing universally admitted, that St. 
Peter suffered martyrdom under Xero, the answer is, That 
determines nothing as to the place of such martyrdom ; as 
it can be shown that Xero's persecutions extended to the 
various provinces subject to the Roman empire, and that 
multitudes were put to death, at his instigation, hundreds 
of miles from Rome. 

TVe cannot now pursue this inquiry further ; but the 
general view which we have given of the character of the 



378 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

evidence to be found in the Fathers, might readily be sup- 
ported by particular references to the sixteen Latin and 
eleven Greek writers cited by Cardinal Earonius. So 
that, although Greswell (a name not to be mentioned but 
with profound respect) has said, that "the truth of the 
general proposition that both St. Paul and St. Peter suf- 
fered martyrdom at Eome, and under the reign of Nero, 
is so well authenticated, and by such a cloud of witnesses, 
that it would be the height of scepticism to disbelieve it, 
and an unnecessary waste of trouble to produce the testi- 
monies to it," — we must still take the liberty of maintain- 
ing, that those testimonies are any thing but satisfactory 
and conclusive, and that the balance of evidence is in 
favour of St. Peter never having been in Eome. 

We have now followed Peter through some of the most 
interesting and important scenes of his life, and to the 
ignominious and painful death by which he glorified God. 
We have attempted to delineate his character and explain 
his conduct, and to point out the lessons of instruction 
which they convey. We have seen some things in Peter 
to disapprove of and lament ; but we have seen more to 
commend and to admire. Bold, ardent, and impulsive, 
he was not always prudent and judicious either in his 
sayings or doings. His judgment was occasionally borne 
down by the impetuous tide of his feelings ; but he was, 
nevertheless, one of the most sincerely attached disciples 
of Christ, one of the most honoured of his friends, and 
one of the most zealous and successful of all his Apostles. 



THE CLOSING SCENE. 379 

During a long course of active service, he widely spread 
the Gospel of the grace of God among men, was the 
instrument of converting thousands to the faith of the 
Lord Jesus, and honoured as the founder of numerous 
churches in different regions. His consecrated life was 
terminated by a cruel death; but even that was made 
subservient to what had been the great object of his life, 
— the glory of God. His apostolical labours came to an 
end amidst the suffering and the shame of the cross; 
but they were rewarded with a martyr's crown. To use 
his own favourite expression, he "put off his tabernacle;" 
and "an entrance was ministered unto him abundantly 
into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ." 

Peter's duty was all summed up in following Christ : 
so is ours. Peter's great end was to " glorify God : " 
this, also, is ours. TVhile, therefore, we contemplate his 
example^ let us ask ourselves the question, " Are we ful- 
filling our duty, and promoting the great end of our 
being, — the glory of God?" The work that cannot be 
done while following Christ, ought not to be done at all : 
it is no part of our duty. And the aim which is limited 
to earth and time is paltry compared with this, and is, in 
fact, unworthy of our resources, and of the loftiness of our 
immortal powers. The material universe, with all its 
planets, suns, and systems, was made to mirror forth the 
glory of the Deity ; and the highest intelligences in earth 
or heaven can do no more than " glorify God." All the 



380 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

powers of our being — mental, moral, and physical — may- 
be happily consecrated to this chief end ; all our worldly 
possessions, and all the engagements of our every-day life, 
may be used as instruments of bringing glory to God. 
So says St. Paul : " Ye are bought with a price : there- 
fore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which 
are God's;" and, "Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or 
whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." that 
we might reach this high style of Christian excellence ! 

The means and opportunities for advancing the divine 
glory, no doubt, greatly vary in degree. Talents are not 
equally distributed. To one are given fixe, to another two, 
and to another one. An obscure position is occupied by 
this man, and a more prominent one by that ; an exten- 
sive sphere of influence is marked out for one person, 
while very narrow limits are assigned to another. The 
King has distributed to every man according to his several 
ability ; but to all He says, " Occupy till I come." 

Instead, therefore, of foolishly desiring the sphere and 
gifts of others, we should devoutly fill up and employ our 
own, in the assured confidence that, in the providence of 
God, we are favourably situated, on the whole, for accom- 
plishing the chief end of our being, — the glory of God, and 
the enjoyment of him for ever. If the Divine Master should 
have some more public or influential place for you than the 
one which you at present fill, you may be sure that he will 
open your way to it ; but in the mean time, " in the calling 
wherein you have been called, therein abide;" and while 



THE CLOSING SCENE. 381 

you are adorning the doctrine of God your Saviour in all 
things, those around you will be led to glorify your Father 
which is in heaven. 

We are instructed, by what is here said concerning the 
death of Peter, that it is not only by doing, but also by 
suffering, the will of God, that we may bring glory to 
him. "When, in the midst of difficulty, and trial, and pain, 
the soul is possessed in patience, and no murmmings are 
heard, and no rebellion is manifested ; when, though sur- 
rounded with turmoil, and at the same time enduring 
strong pain, the peace which passeth all understanding 
keeps the heart and mind; when "deep calleth unto 
deep," and the only response from the sanctified soul, as 
the waves go over it, is, "It is the Lord, let him do what 
seemeth him good;" then, indeed, is the truth, and the 
power, and the blessedness of religion witnessed, and God 
the Author is abundantly glorified. 

" Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his 
saints," under whatever circumstances it takes place. 
Whether, calmly reposing in his truth and love, the saved 
one falls asleep in Jesus ; or whether faith attains its 
loftiest triumph, and the Christian hero sings, " O grave, 
where is thy victory? death, where is thy sting?" 
whether they die like Stephen, calling upon God, and 
saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit !" or whether they 
take up the language of David, " Though I walk through 
the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil : for 
Thou art with me ; and thy rod and thy staff they comfort 



382 SCENES IN THE LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

me-." — in any case, the divinity of our holy religion is 
demonstrated, and faith is found unto praise and honour 
and glory. 

" Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last 
end be like his !" That it may be so, we must follow 
Christ. And then, whensoever the end may come, in 
whatever place death may overtake me, under whatsoever 
guise he may present himself, and howsoever he may be 
accompanied, I need not be anxious; all will be well. 
Light and grace will be afforded me. While earth recedes 
from my view, heaven will open upon it. While the 
clamours of earth are hushing into eternal silence, the 
music of heaven will be breaking in. While loved friends 
are fast disappearing, angels and the spirits of just men 
made perfect will be coming into sight. My last look on 
earth will be instantly followed by my first glance through 
the skies ; and the last sigh or groan of mortality will be 
succeeded by the first note of the song of Moses and the 
Lamb in the paradise of God. And thus, having done 
and suffered the divine will, I shall, in death as in life, 
glorify God. 



THE END. 



LONDON; — PRINTED BY WILLIAM NICHOLS, 32, LONDON- WALL. 






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